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Suez Canal chief: Vessel Confiscated amid financial dispute

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities Confiscated a massive cargo vessel that blocked the Suez Canal last month amid a financial dispute with its owner, the canal chief and a judicial official said Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie said the hulking Ever Given would not be permitted to leave the country until a compensation is settled on with the vessel’s Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd.
He told Egypt’s state-run television late on Monday “The vessel is now officially confiscated. They do not want to pay anything."
Rabie did not say how much money the canal authority was asking. However, a judicial official said it asked $900 million at least according to the Ahram daily.
That amount takes into account the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic and lost transit fees for the week that the Ever Given blocked the canal.
The official said the order to confiscate the vessel was released on May 10 by a court in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, and that the vessel’s crew has been informed on May 11.
He said prosecutors in Ismailia also opened a separate investigation into what led the Ever Given to run aground. The official talked on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media.
Rabie said negotiations were still ongoing to reach a settlement on compensation.
He warned last week in an interview with The Associated Press that bringing the case before a court would cause more harm to the vessel’s owner than settling with the canal’s management.
Litigation could be complex, since the vessel is owned by a Japanese firm, operated by a Taiwanese shipper, and flagged in Panama.
The Panama-flagged ship that carries some $3.5 billion in cargo between Asia and Europe ran aground on March 23 in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Asian Sinai Peninsula.
The vessel had crashed into the bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez.
On March 29, salvage teams freed the Ever Given, ending a crisis that had blocked one of the world’s most vital waterways and halted billions of dollars a day in maritime commerce.
Rabie, the canal chief, said that there was no wrongdoing by the canal authority. He declined to discuss possible causes, including the ship’s velocity and the winds that battered it during a sandstorm.
When asked whether the ship’s owner was faulty, he said: “Absolutely, he was.”
Rabie said the conclusion of the authority investigation was expected on Thursday.
Source: apnews
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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