Arab News Japan

Shoei Kisen, the Japanese owner of the Ever Given ship that blocked the Suez canal on March 23 and remained stuck for six days, has stressed that the Suez canal authority is responsible, despite a $916.5m claim against the owner.

Blame has now been shifted to the Suez canal authority in the ongoing dispute over the ship as the owner’s lawyers now say the ship was given the greenlight to enter the canal despite bad weather and without any tug boats to assist, the Guardian stated.

Lawyers highlighted the unlawfulness of the detention by emphasizing how the ship’s release was not “a salvage (operation) in the proper legal sense,” said legal member Ahmed Abu Ali, according to the Guardian.

Evidence was presented to the court in the form of a recording, displaying the SCA pilots and control centre disputing over the ship’s entry, the Guardian shared.

Surfacing of recent evidence aims to solidify the Japanese owner’s $100,000 compensation request for the detained ship, now temporarily held in a lake.

A hearing was held in court on Saturday, and a decision is meant to be finalized on Sunday.

In April, the head of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) shared that “the authority is dealing with all the specific requirements of the negotiation with complete flexibility, in full respect for international norms in these sorts of situations,” expressing hope that talks would yield an agreement and solution.

In March, the 400-meter Ever Given container ship ran aground and was jammed in the canal for days, halting cargo traffic in the major trading link between Europe and Asia.

The blockage halted hundreds of vessels carrying vital resources such as crude oil to cattle, and resulted in a strain on supply chains globally.