Egypt Seizes Cargo Ship Blamed For Blocking Suez, Demands $900 Million

Egypt has impounded the Ever Given amid a financial dispute with the owners of the massive cargo vessel which blocked the Suez Canal last month.

Suez Canal authority says huge container ship ‘officially impounded’ because owners ‘do not want to pay anything.

Egypt has impounded the Ever Given — the massive container ship that blocked the Suez Canal and disrupted global commerce for days — while officials negotiate a hefty compensation payment with the boat’s owner, reports say.

An Egyptian court allowed the Suez Canal Authority to seize the ship until the Japanese firm that owns the vessel forks over $900 million for last month’s traffic jam, the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported Tuesday.

That amount accounts for the cost of moving the 400-meter-long ship after it ran aground along with costs for lost transit fees and stalled traffic that piled up during the six-day blockage, according to the Associated Press.