Suez Canal releases hulking vessel after settlement deal

ISMAILIA, Egypt (AP) — Suez Canal authorities announced Wednesday the release of a hulking shipping vessel that blocked the crucial east-west waterway for nearly a week earlier this year.

The Ever Given was seen leaving the Suez Canal after its Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., reached a settlement with the canal authorities over a compensation amount after more than three months of negotiations and a court standoff.

The settlement deal was signed in a ceremony Wednesday in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, after which the vessel was seen sailing to the Mediterranean.

An Associated Press video journalist on board a tugboat witnessed the vessel as it was moving northward to the the Mediterranean Sea, as officials representing the Suez Canal the vessel's owner and insurers penned the deal in Ismailia.

Wednesday’s release came a day after an Egyptian court lifted the judicial seizure of the vessel following the Suez Canal Authority’s notification that that it reached a settlement in its financial dispute with the vessels' owners and insurers.

The Suez Canal Authority did not reveal details on the terms of the settlement. At first, the Suez Canal Authority had demanded $916 million in compensation, which was later lowered to $550 million. In addition to the money, local reports said the canal would also receive a tugboat.

The Panama-flagged vessel ran aground in March, blocking the crucial waterway for six days. It has been since held amid a dispute over financial compensation.

The money, according to canal authorities, would cover the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic, and lost transit fees for the week the Ever Given had blocked the canal.

The Ever Given was on its way to the Dutch port of Rotterdam on March 23 when it slammed into the bank of a...