Prince-Charming

For the first time in the history of the judiciary, the Kerala High Court held an online sitting in the night of Jan 24, 2022, and ordered the seizure of the 'Ocean Rose', which was anchored in the Kochi waters after it had refused to pay the amount due to the supplier of water. During the hearing, the Court directed the Registrar to issue an order to seize the tanker after the payment default. The Court also directed the Deputy Conservator of Cochin Port to effect the arrest of the owners or seizure of the vessel. The Court passed the order on an admiralty suit, filed by the Grace International Company. According to it, the owner of the vessel owed over Rs 2 crores towards the supply of water to the vessel. The tanker called at the port carrying sulfur destined for FACT in Kochi. The Court ordered the hearing at 11.30 p.m. as, according to the petitioner, the vessel had scheduled its departure at 5 a.m. on Jan 25. The Court also ordered that the warrant of arrest would stand withdrawn in the event of a sum of Rs 2,43,75,000, being deposited towards the payment due to the company along with interest and a cost of Rs 25,000. After the execution of the arrest, if the vessel is not released by furnishing security within 15 days or if an application for vacating the arrest is not filed, a process will be initiated to auction the vessel within seven days. The Court will hear the matter next on Jan 27.

Vietnam law enforcement agencies, assisted by the Coast Guard, on April 14 2019 seized the "Pioneer Spirit" along with the Vietnamese tanker "QNg 0350" in the waters of the Quang Ngai Province at the South central coast region of Vietnam, when the ships were engaged in an illegal cargo transfer. The Vietnamese vessel was to offload 8.000 tons gasoline from the tanker in order to deliver it to the Sa Ky port. The AIS of the "Pioneer Spirit" was off since early April. Both tankers were taken to the nearest Vietnamese port for further investigations. As the size of the "QNg 0350" was much less than that required for taking on 8,000 tons of fuel, assumedly the vessel was to make several trips to deliver the contraband shipment.