Settlement reached to release ship that blocked Suez Canal

The Suez Canal Authority says it has reached an agreement to settle a financial dispute with the owners of a hulking container ship that blocked the crucial waterway in Egypt for nearly a week earlier this year.

The authority did not reveal details on the settlement deal with the Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., the Japanese owner of the Ever Given. It said the deal will be signed in a ceremony in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia today.

The vessel would be also freed tomorrow, it said. “Preparations for the release of the vessel will be made and an event marking the agreement will be held at the Authority’s headquarters in Ismailia in due course,” Faz Peermohamed of Stann Marine, which represents owner Shoei Kisen and its insurers, said in a statement on Sunday, without providing details of the settlement.-AP.