Egypt Announces Widening Of The Southern Section Of The Suez Canal

A few days ago, Egyptian President Sisi approved the plan for widening the southern section of the Suez Canal. The plan is expected to be completed within two years, covering approximately 30 kilometers of the route from Suez City to the Great Bitter Lake. Sisi said at the ceremony that the grounding of a freighter in March this year highlighted the importance of widening the southern section of the Suez Canal.

A few days ago, Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said in an interview with television that Egypt has proposed to reduce the amount of compensation claimed by the "Long Gift" ship owner by one third and reduce the compensation claim from 900 million US dollars to $600 million.

However, for the compensation amount of US$600 million, the North British P&I Association, the insurance company of the "Longci" ship, responded that the owner of the "Longci" ship has not yet obtained evidence to support the claim amount, and the reduced claim amount did not reflect the claim. Among the claims submitted by SCA to the court, the amount of the claim is still extremely large.

Due to the dispute over the amount of compensation claimed by the Suez Canal Authority to the Japanese ship owner Maseibo, the ship is still stranded in the Great Bitter Lake between the two sections of the canal.

Reuters quoted internal reports from the Suez Canal Authority that the Egyptian court is scheduled to hold a hearing on May 22 to hear the Suez Canal Authority's claims. The Egyptian investigation revealed that neither the Suez Canal Authority nor the pilot made any mistakes in the accident.

If the shipowner refuses to pay compensation, the court may authorize the Suez Canal Authority to auction the long-given ship.