Maersk reaches settlement over Suez Canal blockage

December 4, 2023

A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) has settled an agreement for the six-day blockage of the Suez Canal, caused by one of the world’s largest containerships, Ever Given.

The blockage occurred on 23 March 2021, with Evergreen being the company responsible for chartering the containership. The owner of the Ever Given vessel is the Japanese ship leasing firm Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd.

The Suez Canal closure created several delays and supply chain concerns for numerous firms throughout the world.

Maersk filed a lawsuit for the incident in February 2023, claiming more than $40 million in compensation for delays caused by the event.

On 30 November 2023, Bloomberg revealed that the case has been settled out of court.

“We can confirm that we have withdrawn the case in Denmark,” the Danish giant told Bloomberg in an email.

Bloomberg also revealed that Maersk refused to reveal the terms of the settlement and did not identify the firms or persons it had sued.

In March 2023, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) announced that the MSC Istanbul cargo vessel had been refloated after being stranded in Egypt’s Suez Canal for two hours.

Five months later, a south Louisiana parish announced it was suing the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) to block it from building the planned $1.8 billion Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) container facility.