- The
Ever Given 's owners are suing the operator of the ship, the Evergreen Marine Corp. - The suit was filed in London's High Court and references the ship getting stuck in the
Suez Canal . - The court filing was first reported by The Lawyer, a British law magazine.
After the massive container ship got stuck and blocked the Suez Canal, the owners of the Ever Given are suing the ship's operators, The Lawyer reported Thursday.
The lawsuit was filed in the High Court in London, The Lawyer reported, and makes reference to "the grounding of the M/V 'EVER GIVEN' along the Suez Canal, Egypt on 23 March 2021." According to the lawsuit, the two defendants listed in the case are the Evergreen Marine Corp. and "all other persons claiming or being entitled to claim damages."
The Ever Given is co-owned by Luster Maritime and Higaki Sangyo Kaisha, two companies based in Japan. It is being leased by Evergreen Marine Corp., a Taiwanese container-transportation company.
The ship made headlines on March 23 after an unexpected dust and wind storm swept through the region, which caused the massive container vessel to veer off course and become beached. The dayslong ordeal temporarily slowed commerce from the canal, which facilitates 12% of the world's trade every year.
A fleet of tugboats and a dredger successfully freed the ship on March 29, nearly a week after it got stuck. According to The New York Times, a full moon produced a "king tide" that allowed for a few extra inches of tidal flow to help refloat the Ever Given.
The Ever Given prevented more than $50 billion in global trade after it blocked the Suez Canal for six days, according to Lloyd's List. Toilet paper, coffee, and furniture are among the products most affected by the Ever Given. Ikea, an international furniture company, said it had more than 100 containers on board the Ever Given and expected supply-chain delays from the crisis.
The container ship is sitting in the Great Bitter Lake - a large body of water midway through the canal - where it is being inspected before it can continue the journey to its final destination in the Netherlands.
Sophia Ankel contributed reporting.