- Evergreen risk exposure from Suez ‘very low’: President Hsieh.
- Company says 12 vessels it uses were impacted by shutdown of Suez.
Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corp., which chartered the Ever Given vessel that grounded in the Suez Canal, halting marine traffic through the waterway for about six days, said it’s not responsible for delays of any cargo it’s transporting due to the incident, reports Bloomberg Quint.
Dozen of vessels impacted
Evergreen’s agreements with clients don’t guarantee arrival time of cargoes, said President Eric Hsieh, in the company’s first briefing since the blockage. A dozen ships used by Evergreen, including the Ever Given, were impacted by the incident and three have been diverted around the Cape of Good Hope, according to Hsieh.
“Our risk exposure from the Ever Given incident is very low — even if there are damages, it will be covered by insurance,” Hsieh said at a briefing in Taipei on Thursday. “Evergreen is free of responsibility from cargo delays.”
The comments come amid expectations of legal claims from all sides. Owners of the goods on board the Ever Given and other ships could seek compensation for delays from their insurers.
Those insurers for the cargo can in turn file claims against Ever Given’s owners, who will then look to their insurers for protection.
$1 billion in compensation
As the shipowner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha is widely expected to bear the brunt of damage claims from shippers and shipping interests. Egypt alone believes it is owed at least $1 billion in compensation for the six-day shutdown and the cost of the refloat effort, Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabie told reporters Wednesday.
Read Also: Egypt To Seek 1bn Compensation for Suez Canal Crisis
He did not specify who should be liable to pay the damages, but he emphasized that Egyptian responders “saved [the shipowner] so much by rescuing the ship without any major damage or losses.” “We could agree on a certain compensation, or it goes to court,” Rabie said. “If they decide to go to court, then the ship should be held.”
Shoei Kisen Kaisha has declared general average in connection with the disaster, indicating that it will impose a bond requirement on cargo interests before releasing containers from the ship.
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Source: Bloomberg Quint
