Owners Cut Deal With Egypt to Get Ever Given Back

More than three months after running aground in the Suez Canal, the Ever Given is about to be on its way again. The owners and insurers of the container ship have reached an agreement with Egypt on compensation for the damages, the BBC reports. The blockage backed up traffic in the canal, affecting global shipping, with hundreds of vessels waiting to pass before salvage efforts involving dredging vessels and tugboats set the Ever Given free. One person was killed in the operation. The Suez Canal Authority wanted $550 million in compensation, while the owners and insurers reportedly offered $150 million.

A signing ceremony will be held Wednesday to mark the ship's release, per the Guardian, and the parties involved will be able to watch it set sail. The Ever Given has been impounded by order of an Egyptian court at Great Bitter Lake, the canal's halfway point. The Japanese-owned ship's cargo—which includes Ikea furniture—has an estimated value of $775 million. As part of the deal, the canal authority will receive a tug boat. "We preserved the rights of the authority in full," its chairman said, "preserved our relationship with the company and also political relations with Japan." (More Suez canal stories.)