October 28, 2023
On October 19, 2023, the Karnataka High Court stayed the removal of the MV Princess Miral shipwreck from the coast of Dakshina Kannada. The court's order came in response to a petition filed by the vessel's owner, 5 Oceans Administration Inc.
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5 Oceans alleges that the Dakshina Kannada District Magistrate illegally handed over the wreck to Bansal Endeavours LLP, a Gujarat-based firm, without notice to the vessel owner. The company claims that it is the registered owner of the vessel and has the first and only right to the vessel and its value.
5 Oceans also alleges that Bansal Endeavours LLP failed to properly debunk the vessel of fuel before abandoning the project. The company claims that there is a risk of water pollution from the remaining fuel.
The Karnataka High Court has scheduled a hearing for November 16, 2023. Until then, Bansal Endeavours LLP is prohibited from removing the shipwreck.
The vessel owner is aggrieved by the Order issued by the Dy Commissioner and District Magistrate where the highly valuable wreck of wreck vessel owned by vessel owner appears to have been illegally handed over one bansal Endeavour LLC under a private arrangement without notice to the owner of the vessel. The owner alleges that this is being done in violation of law and the principles of natural justice.
Counsels Mr. Arjun Rao, Ms. Maitrey Rao were instructed by Brus Chambers a top-ranked shipping law firm from Mumbai. Solicitor Dr. Shrikant Hathi of Brus Chambers also appeared in the matter.
The MV Princess Miral was a merchant shipping vessel that sank off the coast of Dakshina Kannada in June 2022.
The vessel was carrying a cargo of steel coils from Malaysia to Lebanon.
The Indian Coast Guard rescued all 15 crew members on board the vessel before it sank. The vessel owner, 5 Oceans, is a Panama-based company.
The Karnataka High Court's order is significant because it protects the rights of vessel owners and prevents the illegal removal of shipwrecks. The order also helps to protect the marine environment from water pollution.
In June 2022, the Vessel Princess Miral was carrying a cargo of highly valuable steel coils from Malaysia to Lebanon. Around June 18, 2023, while the Vessel was transiting off the western coast of India, the Vessel experienced severe and unforeseen weather and thereby sustained significant damage to its hull. The hull breached and the Vessel began to take on water. There was an immediate threat of the Vessel sinking with all its crew on board. The Vessel came to call at the port of Mangalore, being the nearest port of refuge at the time, with a view of seeking urgent essential repairs. On around the time the time that the Vessel arrived at the port of Mangalore, the Vessel's hull integrity breached to cause it to take in water and became grounded near Ullal. The vessel owner alleges that there was no help given by the authorities to the Vessel. The crew came to be rescued by the Indian Coast Guard. Unfortunately, owing to various conditions beyond the control of the vessel and despite all due diligence, precautions having been taken, the Vessel sunk completely on 21.06.2022. The Vessel sank near Talapadi's Bhattapadi Ullal coast of Dakshina Kannada and remains within the jurisdiction of the Old Mangalore Port less than 2 nautical miles from the shore next to Old Mangalore Port as claimed by the vessel owner. Not only was loss and distress caused to the vessel owner, but there was also an immediate threat of environmental damage from potential leakage, spillage of large volumes of fuel remaining on the sunken vessel. The immediate priority was to carry out debunkering which is the process of removal of fuel/oils from the Vessel.
The vessel owner through its insurers and Solicitors, Clyde & Co had appointed Bansal Endeavour LLP as the contractor for a limited job scope of the debunkering / removal of the fuel from the Vessel and had nothing to do with removal of the wreck of the vessel. The Notification with regard to the appointment of Bansal Endeavour for this limited purpose dated September 27,2022 was issued by the Directorate General of Shipping, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India that had nothing to do with removal of the wrecked vessel. Bansal Endeavours LLP had began the process of debunkering but delayed the tasks assigned to it and did not perform them in accordance with law, contract, custom. Bansal Endeavour was required to notify the vessel owner upon complete debunkering, and also provide details of exactly how much fuel was removed from the Vessel also Bansal Endeavour did not do so and had failed to provide proper particulars or accounting for the same. Vessel owner alleges that bansal Endeavour LLP made away with the entirety of the fuel removed from the Vessel and sold the fuel for personal unjust enrichment. The vessel owner representative is of the view that there is a large quantity of fuel not yet debunkered and therefore therwe is a risk of water pollution even today and no one has verified this nor completion certification is issued by Bansal Endeavour although Bansal Endeavour has been paid huge sums in exchange for the promised service for debunkering by Clyde & Co on behalf of the P&I Club on behalf of the vessel owner. Bansal Endeavour received payment for services that were not properly rendered. The vessel owner alleged that Bansal had failed to hand over the fuel or at least the amounts received under sale thereof to the vessel owner. It is stated by the vessel owner in the pleading that Bansal acted illegally and in bad faith and had in any event bansal declared that it had completed debunkering and thereafter did not communicate with the owner of the vessel. The vessel owner apprehends that some fuel still remains on the Vessel since they did not debunker it completely.
The vessel owner claims that m.v. Princess Miral is still a vessel and not a wreck also no one has declared it as a wreck to be removed as a wreck as there is possibility of the vessel being refloated. The vessel owner made several visits to the port office for refloating of the vessl and removal of the vessel but permission is still not allowed for removal of the sunken vessel.
The vessel owner continues to be the registered owner of the Vessel nor the Belize flag registration has been deleted or the vessel decommissioned. Irrespective of the Vessel having become a wreck consequent upon its unfortunate sinking, the vessel owner continues to own it. The Vessel Princess Miral is comprised of tonnes of steel and other metals, motors, engines, and various other physical material appurtenant to a large cargo vessel. Even in the current condition the value of the Vessel is nothing short of a few million United States Dollars. The Petitioner has the first and only right to the Vessel and its value.
The vessel owner in its petition pleads that they wrote several e-mails in July 2023 seeking for permission to remove the ship wreck. The Dy. Commissioner did not issue any response to the vessel owners emails. The vessel owners representative also visited Mangaluru to seek a meeting with the Dy. Commissioner Unfortunately, neither permission nor an audience was granted, the vessel owner continued to follow up until September 2023. Sometime in October 2023, the vessel owners representative visited Mangalore and issued letters to the Dy Commissioner and Port Officer seeking permission for inspection of the vessel and removal of the wreck/vessel. It appears that the vessel owner also issued a letter to the Dy Commissioner seeking inspection. The vessel owner was finally granted the much sought after audience. The vessel owner was surprised to note thatthey were informed by the Dy Commissioner that the wrecked vessel of the owner was handed over to a third party namely Bansal Endeavour. The vessel owner was informed that since the wreck removal had been handed over to a third party (Bansal), no permission for removal would be given to the vessel owner to remove the wreck of its own valuable Vessel and the precious cargo lying therein also the Dy Commissioner and the District Magistrate passed an order to this effect nor did they find it necessary to inform the vessel owner of this order nor any notice was issued.
The vessel owner has filed the present Petition challenging the Impugned Order of the Dy Commissioner and the District Magistrate and seeking certain directions to which it is entitled in law.
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