The Kerala High Court on Wednesday ordered conditional arrest of a Liberian-flag ship named MSC Polo 2 anchored in the Vizhinjam international seaport in connection with the sinking of container ship MSC Elsa-3 off the Kerala coast on May 25.
A single bench of Justice MA Abdul Hakhim passed the interim order on an admiralty suit filed by Sans Cashew India Pvt. Ltd., which alleged that its cargo of raw cashew nuts was lost in the MSC Elsa-3 shipwreck.
Last week, the Court had passed a similar order to detain another MSC-operated vessel, MSC Manasa-F, based on similar claims made by five other cargo owners whose containers of raw cashew nuts were lost in the same incident.
The present suit was moved by Sans Cashew India Pvt. Ltd. Since the shipping company had no assets in India, the plaintiff approached the Court seeking the arrest of the sister vessel after the sinking of MSC Elsa-3.
The Court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of MSC Polo-II and directed the owners or interested parties of the vessel to deposit approximately Rs 74 lakh in the High Court as security for the plaintiff’s maritime claim.Once the amount is deposited or adequate security is furnished, the conditional arrest order will stand vacated without any further direction.
The matter will be heard again on June 23.