The vessel that sparked a global shipping crisis after it blocked the Suez Canal for six days has finally docked in the UK – four months later than planned.
Ever Given, a huge container ship, caused mass disruption in April when it became stuck for almost a week in the major shipping lane in Egypt.
It moored in the Port of Felixstowe at 4.30pm on Tuesday, attracting dozens of onlookers along the port’s banks, some with deck chairs and binoculars.
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Ever Given is chartered and operated by container transportation and shipping company Evergreen Marine
Its arrival in the UK is four months late after it was held by authorities in charge of the canal for more than three months amid a financial dispute over compensation.
It was freed in July after an agreement was struck between its Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, and the canal authorities.
A settlement deal was signed in a ceremony in the city of Ismalia the day after an Egyptian court lifted the judicial seizure of the 400m-long vessel.
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Ever Given docked in the UK four months later than planned
The sum agreed covers the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic and lost transit fees.
The Suez Canal Authority did not reveal details of the settlement terms, but it had previously demanded $916m (£666m) in compensation, later lowering its asking amount to $550m (around £397.7m).
The ship was heading for Rotterdam when it got wedged in a sandy bank of a narrow stretch of the canal on March 23.
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The ship blocked the Suez Canal for six days in April
It caused one of the largest traffic jams in shipping history, with the chaos and backlogs meaning hundreds of ships were delayed and some were forced to take a much longer route around the southern tip of Africa.
Ever Given’s next destination is Hamburg, Germany.
