Kerala HC orders arrest of another sister ship of sunken vessel to recover losses
Justice MA Abdul Hakhim passed the order in a suit filed by Sans Cashew India Private Limited, which claimed its consignment worth Rs 74 lakh was lost due to the sinking.
MSC ELSA 3 was on its way from Vizhinjam to Kochi and carrying 640 containers, including 13 hazardous cargo and 12 calcium carbide containers, when it sank 'reportedly due to flooding in one of the holds', the Indian Coast Guard had said.
On June 13, the High Court had issued a similar order to detain another vessel that is also operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Company following petitions from five other cargo owners who also lost shipments in the incident, The News Minute reported.
The order secured nearly Rs 6 crore as a conditional deposit for the release of the ship, Bar and Bench reported.
On Wednesday, Hakhim said that the conditional arrest of MSC Polo II would be lifted if the vessel's owners deposit Rs 74 lakh or furnish adequate security in court.
The court also clarified that the arrest can only be made when the ship is anchored within the territorial jurisdiction of Kerala.
The ship is currently en route to Vizhinjam Port, according to Bar and Bench.
The court ordered the arrest on the basis that the shipping company has no assets in India.
The matter will be heard next on June 23.
On May 29, the Kerala government declared the wreckage of MSC ELSA 3 a state-specific disaster.
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