Court proceedings to free the 20,388 teu Ever Given have been put on hold for another fortnight as the ship’s owner and the Suez Canal Authority battle over compensation claims.

Representatives of Shoei Kisen, the ship’s owner, and the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) were due in court yesterday for a delayed compensation verdict but a new date of July 4 has been announced.

SCA lawyers claim Shoei Kisen has made an improved offer to get the 400m ship moving again. The vessel has been under arrest in Egypt after it ran into difficulties transiting the canal in March, leading to a six-day blockage of the waterway that links Asia with Europe.

SCA officials had last month indicated Shoei Kisen and its insurer, the UK P&I Club, had made an initial offer of $150m to get the ship moving again, a far cry from SCA’s initial demands for $916m, something the Egyptians then gradually reduced to $550m.

Both sides have blamed each other for how the very high profile accident happened. The SCA has recently revealed plans to expand the waterway around the area where the Ever Given grounded.