Kerala High Court orders arrest of sister ship of sunken MSC Elsa to recover cargo loss

The Kerala High Court on Thursday ordered the arrest of Liberian-flagged cargo vessel MSC Manasa-F, whose sister vessel, MSC Elsa-3, recently sank off the coast of Alappuzha district [Saji Surendran v Owners and Parties interested in the vessel MV MSC MANASA F(IMO 9238882) & Ors. and connected cases]..Justice MA Abdul Hakhim passed the order after considering five admiralty suits filed by individual buyers and companies, all of whom had purchased raw cashew nuts that were onboard the sunken ship. They sought to recover the losses they suffered.The Court admitted the admiralty suits and ordered the arrest of MSC Manasa F, operated by the same shipping group, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company SA, to secure the plaintiffs' maritime claims."It is made clear that the Warrant of Arrest would be withdrawn and the conditional order of arrest would automatically be vacated once the amount is deposited or security is furnished by the 1st respondent (Owners and Parties interested in the vessel MV MSC Manasa F) in this Court, without any further order," the Court added..The suits moved by the five plaintiffs stated that their containers filled with cashew nuts were loaded on MSC Elsa-3 and that it sank due to technical problems, poor maintenance, and wrong loading of cargo. They blamed the same on the crew's carelessness. Since MSC, the company that operated the ship, did not have any property in India, the plaintiffs sought orders from the Court to allow them to recover the money by arresting the sister ship, MSC Manasa F, that had entered Indian waters and was docked at Vizhinjam Port. The Court accepted this submission and passed orders directing the detention of the vessel until either the claimed amount is deposited or adequate security is furnished to the satisfaction of the Court.The individual compensation claims made by the plaintiffs are as follows:1. Saji Surendran, Proprietor, Mangalath Cashews – ₹1,54,71,4432. JJ Trading Company – ₹1,58,08,478.403. R Rajendran, Proprietor, RRR Enterprises – ₹1,63,54,1044. Iacom Foods Private Limited – ₹81,11,7785. Georgian Food Products Pvt Ltd – ₹39,80,307.78The total amount comes close to ₹6 crore..The Court clarified that if the owners or parties interested in MSC Manasa F furnish the total amount or adequate security, the warrant of arrest would automatically stand vacated.It also directed that the conditional arrest order shall remain valid until compliance.The Chief Executive Officer of the Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd was initially named as the second respondent in the suits, but the Court directed the plaintiffs to make necessary corrections in the petition so that the competent port authority, Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt. Ltd., is impleaded instead..The matter has been scheduled to be heard again on June 16. The Court has asked the defendants to file their written statements by June 15. .The plaintiffs were represented by advocates Joy Thattil Ittoop, Bijish B Tom, Uthara AS., Krishna Kumar TK, Baby Sonia, Karun Mahesh, Megha Joseph, Nevis Cassandra L Caxton Loretta, Govind Vijayakumaran Nair, Roshni Manuel, and Jacob Tomlin Varghese.The company, MSC, was represented by advocate Pranoy Kottaram and the Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd. by advocate Roshen D Alexander..[Read Order]