Uab Garant Service v. Hamburg (imo No. 9238818) (ex Zea Hamburg)
2020-03-31
B.P.COLABAWALLA
body2020
DigiLaw.ai
JUDGMENT 1. Not on Board. Due to extreme urgency the matter has been moved at my residence at 6:30 p.m. today (Tuesday). Learned counsel tenders a copy of a screenshot of website www.marinetraffic.com indicating that the defendant vessel is within the territorial waters falling within the jurisdiction of this court at 5:13 pm today. The said copy is taken on record and Aswale marked ''X'' for identification. 2. Heard the learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the plaintiff and also considered the averments made in the plaint. On going through the plaint, I find that a prima facie case for arrest of the defendant vessel is made out. In the present case, the claim in the plaint is a maritime claim. They are the dues of the plaintiff for providing services to the defendant vessel as evidenced from the Purchase Orders and Invoices annexed to the Plaint. This claim will therefore squarely fall within the meaning of a maritime claim as defined in Section 4(1)(l) of the Admiralty (Jurisdiction & Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017. 3. In these circumstances, the Judge''s Order for arrest of the defendant vessel is signed separately. I have also seen the Caveat register and there is no Caveat against arrest of the defendant vessel. It is clarified that even though the Judge''s Order mentions a figure of Euros 47,279 together with interest, legal costs and poundage as security towards satisfaction of the plaintiff''s claim, the owners of the defendant vessel or the defendant vessel shall be entitled to apply for lifting of this arrest order and release of the defendant vessel on furnishing security of Euros 40,000 (inclusive of interest, legal costs and poundage). 4. The plaintiff is at liberty to forward a copy of the communication from the Sheriff of Mumbai forwarding this order by fax /email/hand delivery/RPAD to all the concerned Authorities including the Coast Guard. 5. The undertaking of the plaintiff''s Advocate that the warrant of arrest will be served upon the defendant vessel and all other concerned Authorities within a period of three weeks from today is accepted. 6.
5. The undertaking of the plaintiff''s Advocate that the warrant of arrest will be served upon the defendant vessel and all other concerned Authorities within a period of three weeks from today is accepted. 6. After execution of the warrant of arrest, if the arrested vessel is not released by furnishing security or bail amount within 21 days, or an application for vacating the order of arrest is not filed, or the vessel is found abandoned by the person in-charge of the vessel or owner, or is found unmanned, then, in such an event, on an application being made by the plaintiff, the office of the Sheriff of Mumbai shall present a Sheriff''s report for auctioning the vessel within 14 days from the date of receiving communication from the plaintiffs Advocate or from the date of knowledge of abandonment of vessel. 7. All parties are directed to act on an ordinary copy of this order duly authenticated by the Associate of this Court.