Ashraf AboArafe
The Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie has confirmed the authority’s keenness to make the ongoing negations a success with the owning company of the Panamanian-flagged container ship EVER GIVEN, as well as the insurance company, and showing all the possible means of cooperation to reach compromise solutions convenient for all parties hoping that the latest negotiations may result in a near agreement in the light of the great facilities that the Authority has provided in acknowledgment of the extended relations with the ship-owning company, and an understanding of the surrounding circumstances in the light of the economic consequences of the novel Coronavirus on the maritime industry.
His excellency has highlighted the authority is being flexible to all the special requirements of the negotiations while adhering to what the international norms stipulate in such cases.
His excellency asserted that it is no truth in the allegations of detaining the ship crew, pointing to that the SCA does not mind the departure or recrew operations provided the presence of the sufficient number of sailors to secure the vessel and in the light of the presence of the ship captain as he stands as the juridical guardian of the ship and the cargo aboard.
According to Suez Canal Authority Spokesperson, George Safwat, it is worth mentioning that the SCA has responded to all the requests made by the ship-owning company, including permitting two crew members to leave the ship and return to their homeland for urgent personal circumstances.
