New Delhi: After the Kerala high court allowed the seizure of a Russian ship for non-payment of dues to an Estonian firm, the embassy of Russia asked the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for an explanation and called for the rights of the crew to be respected.
On Monday, the Kerala high court ordered the “arrest” of the Russian ship MV MAIA-1 for non-payment of fuel charges amounting to $23,503 to an Estonian company, the Times of India reported.
A day later, the Russian embassy confirmed the detention of the ship. The diplomatic mission also added that the Russian vessel had arrived with military cargo for the Indian armed forces.
“According to the preliminary information, these actions are connected with the claim of the Estonian shore service company Bunker Partner OU, which claimed that the owners of the ship allegedly had a debt,” said the embassy’s statement.
It also pointed out that the Kerala high court had allowed the unloading of the cargo “since it has nothing to do with the lawsuit”.
“The Embassy has sent to the Ministry of External Affairs of India an official request for explanation of the circumstances of the incident,” noted the statement. The embassy also called on the MEA “to ensure unconditional observance of the rights of the Russian shipowners and crew”.
The Russian consulate general based in Chennai has been directly “in control of this situation”, the Russian embassy added.
Justice Sathish Ninan of the Kerala HC noted in his order that the claim is the value of bunkers supplied by the Estonian firm, Bunker Partner OU, to the Russian ship. Bunkering, as per the Times of India article, refers to the supply of fuel for use by ships and includes the logistics of loading and distributing the fuel among available shipboard tanks.
“On going through the averments in the plaint and also the affidavit filed in support of the application, I am satisfied that a prima facie case warranting an ex parte order of arrest has been made out. Accordingly, a conditional order of arrest is issued,” said the order.
The judge called on the deputy conservator of ports at the Cochin Port Trust to implement the “arrest, seizure, and detention of the vessel.”
According to Marine Traffic data, the ship had left Russia’s largest seaport, Novorossiysk, on June 25. It reached Kochi after making port calls in Turkey and Egypt.
Last month, the Sri Lankan government had to intervene legally when a local court had not allowed a flight operated by the Russian airline Aeroflot to depart with passengers based on a case filed by Ireland’s Celestial Aviation, the aircraft owner.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, western countries, led by the United States and European Union, imposed sweeping sanctions to cut Moscow off from the international financial system and cripple its economy.