Cuttack: In a significant legal intervention under the Admiralty Act, the Orissa High Court on Monday ordered the detention of cargo ship MV Propel Fortune at Paradip Port. The HC order prevented the ship from departing early Tuesday morning without resolving outstanding maritime claims demanded by ship chandler MH Bland SL.
Monday evening, the High Court moved swiftly to address the 'urgent matter', as the cargo ship was scheduled to leave Paradip Port early on Tuesday morning. The local judicial magistrate executed the High Court's directive at Paradip by serving the arrest order on MV Propel Fortune.
The dispute originates from a request made by MV Propel Fortune in May this year, soliciting a broad array of supplies and services from MH Bland SL for its stay at Paradeep. Despite receiving these provisions, the vessel's operators failed to compensate the ship chandler, reportedly ignoring repeated demands for payment.
With the ship poised to exit the port without settling the dues of over Rs 15 lakh, MH Bland SL sought urgent judicial intervention. The chandler's plea highlighted the imminent departure of the cargo ship from the territorial waters contiguous to the land of Paradip, which would render any legal claims ineffective.
Justice Murahari Sri Raman of the vacation bench acknowledged the urgency of the situation, recognising a prima facie case against the cargo ship. The court's scrutiny of the submissions and documents led to a decision that the claim was justifiable under the Admiralty Act, resulting in the issuance of an arrest warrant for the ship.
Accordingly, the vacation court after considering the submission and perusing the documents was satisfied that the claim was maintainable under the Admiralty Act and ordered the arrest of the cargo ship by passing a separate judge order along with Letter of Marshal of the High Court as defined under Rule 2 of the Orissa High Court Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Rules of 2020.
In addition to ordering the ship's arrest, Justice Raman has directed the High Court registry to schedule further hearing on the matter during the week beginning from January 2, 2025.
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