The chairman of the Suez Canal Authority has suggested a possible mistake by the captain of the Ever Given could have led to the grounding of the giant container ship in the waterway last month.
“Maybe the captain made a mistake in a specific request, such as the rudder or speed, which could have led to that,” Osama Rabie was quoted as saying by The Japan Times, in a recent interview on the incident.
The grounding of the 400-meter-long ship Ever Given in the southern section of the Suez Canal on March 23 blocked the waterway for nearly a week, causing a major disruption in global trade flows as it prevented hundreds of ships from passing the world’s major shipping trade route before it was finally freed six days later.
Rabie also noted that the authority bears no responsibility for the incident, despite the fact that there was a Suez Canal Authority guide onboard at the time. According to Rabie, the guide has “a consultative role” but the captain “is responsible for the ship”.
The chairman revealed estimations that the incident could incur more than $1 billion in damages. Earlier this week, local authorities informed that Egypt will not release the Ever Given until its owners agree to pay the compensation.
An investigation is underway to determine the exact causes of the incident.
