Who Is Responsible For The Ever Given Grounding?

Ever Given is in the top of the world's largest container ships today (Gold class) and is one of the largest ships in the world still in operation. This super vessel is owned by Shoei Kisen Kaisha (Japan) and is being leased by Evergreen Marine.

First, let's briefly learn about Ever Given and why it is grounding in the Suez Canal

Ever Given is at the top of the world's largest container ships today (Gold class) and is one of the largest ships in the world still in operation. This super vessel is owned by Shoei Kisen Kaisha (Japan) and is being leased by Evergreen Marine.

Ever Given has an overall length of 399.9 m, the widest place 58.8 m, 32.9 m deep, and 14.5 m draft. This super train is nearly four international standard football fields, each yard is 105 m long. The ship has a total tonnage of 220,940 tons, carrying a capacity of 20,124 containers (type 6.1 m).

The reason was that the ship was trapped in a canal by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), strong winds and sandstorms obstructing the view are believed to have caused the ship to be 400 meters long, 59 meters wide, and can carry. 224 thousand tons of this cargo has been moved. deflected, tilted to one side, and stranded, but also questioned whether the two pilots and their captain had any communication problems. Ever Given has a lot of experience with the Suez Canal, as well as the challenges they face when operating a super ship like the Ever Given.

Who is responsible for the Ever Given Grounding? And who will pay for the damages?

This is a complicated topic because the captain is Indian, the operator of the canal is Egyptian, the shipowner and the shipbuilder are Japanese, the operator is German, the insurance company is British. , the charterer is Taiwanese, the cargo is Chinese, the rescuer is Dutch, the ship is Panamanian, and the most important classification is American.

Bloomberg News predicts that in the coming time there will be thousands of insurance policies turned over to find the responsible party. Compensation for damages from this incident can reach millions of dollars.

Evergreen Line (Taiwan), the company that leases and operates the ship Ever Given, said the ship's owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha (Japan) will be responsible for any damage.

Responding and taking part of the responsibility, Shoei Kisen Kaisha added, charterers need to work with the owners of the shipments to compensate for the damage.

Meanwhile, Suez Canal Authority (SCA) policy bluntly states that they will not be held accountable, even if the SCA's pilot contributes to the ship's stranding.

The compensation story can turn into a confusing process. In addition to the shippers on Ever Given, boats unable to pass through the Suez Canal will also request compensation from their insurance company.

These insurance companies will then sue the responsible parties with Ever Given, including ship owners and charterers. Responsible parties will continue to turn to their insurance companies for protection.

According to Bloomberg, the compensation period will be much more complicated if the Ever Given case is announced using the general average process.

Marcus Baker, head of Marsh Insurance's maritime division, warned that it "could take years" for all parties to know their rights and responsibilities in this case.

According to lawyer Torgeir Willumsen from the Simonsen Vogt Wiig Law Firm (Norway), ship owners Ever Given can also ask the owners of shipments to support the cost of rescuing ships on a general average. Charterers can ask the shipowner Ever Given to compensate according to the rules, the rescue team can claim the rescue fee.

Meanwhile, the SCA can claim damages, costs, and losses of the canal.
“It is important to note that vessels generally only need to be partially responsible for claims resulting from the operation of ships. Even this part of the liability is insured, ”Willumsen told marine expert ShippingWatch.
According to the above lawyer, although the liability for compensation depends on the specific case, the general rule is that “if there is damage caused by a navigation error, the party responsible for the crew will be the party responsible for the accident. He further explained that shipowners or charterers will be held responsible in these cases.
Link refers to youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltdHRdtEHE4

Source: gcaptain.com
Author: John Konrad (March 27, 2021)