[ad_1]
TOKYO (Reuters) – Shoei Kisen, the Japanese owner of a container ship trapped in the Suez Canal that is potentially holding billions of dollars in traded goods, apologized on Thursday, adding that he was working to resolve the situation.
He said that putting the ship in motion was “extremely difficult” but that there were no injuries or oil spills caused by the grounding.
“We sincerely apologize for causing great concern,” the company said in a statement in English more than 24 hours after grounding.
He said there were 25 crew members on board, all of them of Indian nationality. The ship was fully loaded with consumer goods destined for European markets in 20,000 standard shipping containers.
The salvage company in charge of trying to get the ship in motion describes it as a “beached whale.” The 400-meter (about 440-yard) container ship has resisted attempts to move it off the sandy edge of a narrow part of the Canal.
The ship got stuck against the edge of the Canal after losing control of direction in high winds.
Shoei Kisen and the insurers of the ship, one of the world’s largest stuck in the Suez Canal, face claims totaling millions of dollars, even if they are quickly floated, industry sources said Wednesday.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami and Aaron Sheldrick; Edited by Clarence Fernandez and Philippa Fletcher)
[ad_2]
