IKEA, Lenovo and many more companies still have products trapped in the Suez Canal

(CNN Business) – The Ever given It is no longer blocking the Suez Canal, but the crisis is far from over for companies forced to endure a protracted legal battle in hopes of recovering hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets that have been trapped on the container ship seized by months.

IKEA and Lenovo are among the companies with products trapped in the Japanese-owned ship that blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March. Smaller companies like British bicycle manufacturer Pearson 1860 and Snuggy UK, which makes portable blankets, also have vital orders stuck in limbo.

“We don’t have high hopes of seeing our inventory this year, and while they are insured in transit, we’ve guessed there will be little chance of seeing a deal for months, if not years,” Will Pearson, director of Pearson 1860. told CNN Business. His company has products worth more than $ 100,000 on the ship.

An Egyptian court seized the Ever Given and its 18,300 cargo containers after the Suez Canal Authority filed an initial claim for compensation of US $ 916 million against the Japanese ship’s owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha, for damages and losses incurred when the ship ran aground in a narrow part of the canal, blocking maritime traffic.

The Ever Given, and its cargo, are being held in the canal’s Great Bitter Lake during the legal battle.

Several companies with products on Ever Given told CNN Business that they have been left in the dark about the status of their products as legal proceedings continue and that they are excluded from negotiations related to their release. Even if an agreement is reached, the companies or their insurers are likely to be committed to part of the agreement.

Companies may be forced to pay according to a principle of maritime law called “common average”, which requires the parties involved in a trip to share the costs proportionally in the event of a loss. The principle has its roots in the regulations governing maritime trade established by the people of Rhodes, more than a millennium ago, in what is now Greece.

“If someone [los armadores en este caso] incurs an extraordinary expense for the common good, so everyone is asked to contribute, ”said Jai Sharma, head of Cargo Accidents at Clyde & Co., a law firm representing companies and insurers with more than $ 100 million in cargo on the Ever Given. The firm estimates that the total value of the goods on board is between US $ 600 million and US $ 700 million.

Shoei Kisen Kaisha declined to comment for this story. The Suez Canal Authority did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Caught in limbo

IKEA told CNN Business that it has a variety of products on board the ship, but declined to provide further details on the shipment. Lenovo confirmed that it also has cargo on board the ship, and a spokesperson said the company is “exploring ways to recover the goods.”

The stakes are even higher for companies like EasyEquipment, a small UK company that does not carry $ 100,000 worth of marine insurance for commercial refrigerators, which were supposed to be delivered to restaurants before sanitary restrictions by the coronavirus will soften, in May.

“Not only have we lost all the profits from this crucial order, but this has also affected the restaurant companies that were hoping to reopen their doors after lockdown,” said CEO Michael Shah. We are trapped in this limbo and I know I will have to pay this additional bill [promedio general] to get my supplies back.

People watch the Ever Given float again on March 29.

Pearson 1860 said it has received few updates regarding legal negotiations and the status of its shipment from the canal authorities, Shoei Kisen Kaisha or Evergreen, who operate the ship.

“There appears to be a continuing exchange of blame and insurance disputes between the ship owners, Evergreen and the Suez Canal authorities,” Pearson said.

Snuggy, a small UK company that was founded just two years ago, echoed that sentiment. Co-founder Jack Griffiths said more than $ 550,000 of his best-selling product, a hooded blanket, is on the ship. The company places only two large orders a year, and this one was meant to carry them through the beginning of the boreal winter.

Griffiths said the delay is causing significant cash flow problems for the company.

“We have not been informed of anything, we are completely powerless and we are left in the dark. I wish we were involved or even stayed a bit more informed, but we are not. It’s really not a great position and it’s an obstacle that most startups will have a hard time getting over, “he said.