In a judgment that will bring cheer to ship owners, the Bombay high court has said that a ship cannot be barred from sailing off merely because its cargo has been detained by a court order in a dispute between two other entities. Coming to the aid of Vietnam-registered MV Ocean 39, the HC on Monday said the company that sought attachment of its cargo must offload it and store it elsewhere by June 29 at its own cost.
Justice SJ Kathwalla passed the judgment in a plea made by Hoang Anh Shipping JSC to let its ship set sail immediately from Tuticorin port and harbour where it has been docked since March 15. A court had passed an ex-parte arrest order to detain nearly 4,700 tonnes of sand and cement on board, after Cupid Shipping, a Singapore-based company, approached it against a Maldives-based company, Blue Metal Investments Pvt Ltd. Cupid wanted the cargo attached as additional security in a dispute it had with Blue Metal. Cupid had neither sought nor got the ship arrested.
Three months later, the ship owners through their counsel Prathamesh Kamat said the ship's seaworthiness classification was up for renewal for which it needs to dry dock on a foreign port immediately. He said the ship is an "innocent third party caught in a dispute it has nothing to do with". He and amicus curiae Venkatesh Dhond argued that Cupid which wants the cargo as security cannot refuse to pay for its offloading and storage. Counsel for Cupid Bimal Rajsekhar argued that since the ship wants to sail, her owner must pay.
There is another dispute over the cargo's ownership. India-based Siva Agencies said it had rights over the cargo for which it moved the HC to have the arrest order vacated. The judge said if Cupid fails to offload the cargo by Wednesday, the arrest order would stand vacated.
Justice SJ Kathwalla passed the judgment in a plea made by Hoang Anh Shipping JSC to let its ship set sail immediately from Tuticorin port and harbour where it has been docked since March 15. A court had passed an ex-parte arrest order to detain nearly 4,700 tonnes of sand and cement on board, after Cupid Shipping, a Singapore-based company, approached it against a Maldives-based company, Blue Metal Investments Pvt Ltd. Cupid wanted the cargo attached as additional security in a dispute it had with Blue Metal. Cupid had neither sought nor got the ship arrested.
Three months later, the ship owners through their counsel Prathamesh Kamat said the ship's seaworthiness classification was up for renewal for which it needs to dry dock on a foreign port immediately. He said the ship is an "innocent third party caught in a dispute it has nothing to do with". He and amicus curiae Venkatesh Dhond argued that Cupid which wants the cargo as security cannot refuse to pay for its offloading and storage. Counsel for Cupid Bimal Rajsekhar argued that since the ship wants to sail, her owner must pay.
There is another dispute over the cargo's ownership. India-based Siva Agencies said it had rights over the cargo for which it moved the HC to have the arrest order vacated. The judge said if Cupid fails to offload the cargo by Wednesday, the arrest order would stand vacated.
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