According to an article published in ET A vessel owned by the Shipping Corporation of India has been arrested in South Africa on the orders of a Durban court in connection with a commercial dispute involving the operator and one of its creditors.
The ship, Vishva Anand, sails under the Indian flag and is an eight-year-old bulk carrier used by SCI to transport commodities such as coal and grain.
Comments of Experts
Industry experts described the arrest as ‘unusual’ and noted that large shipping companies typically file caveats in courts to avoid arrests over such commercial matters as delays in cargo movement could prove more costly.
Shipping giants including Maersk and MSC are known to file such caveats to prevent arrests in India.
“Generally the court would order the arrested party to furnish a bank guarantee that covers the claim made by the aggrieved party until the dispute is decided. The ship would be let off once the guarantee is produced,” said S Priya, a Mumbai-based maritime lawyer.
SCI chairperson Harjeet Kaur Joshi declined to comment on the matter.
Commercial disputes between parties
It give rise to what are known in shipping parlance as maritime claims. These can be lodged in a court in any jurisdiction by an aggrieved party. Arrests are governed by certain international conventions set out by the International Maritime Organization.
Though merchant ships carry the flag of the country in which they are registered, the governments of those countries don’t get involved in commercial disputes.
Details of the party that filed the claim in court could not be ascertained.
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Source: The Economic Times
