Merchant vessel collision with a warship
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay a Bombay high court order permitting a Cyprus merchant vessel MW Nordlake, which allegedly rammed into and sank a Rs 1,058-crore Indian Navy Ship, to leave Indian shores after furnishing a bank guarantee of Rs 46.87 crore.
A bench of Justices H L Dattu and C K Prasad issued notice on the Centre’s appeal to the owners of MV Nordlake, but refused to stay the high court’s decision to leave Indian shores after paying an amount equivalent to the ship’s value. The vessel would now be able to set sail from the Mumbai coast after a single judge bench of the high court accepts the final valuation report.
On January 30, 2011, navigators of MV Nordlake as well as the naval warship did not see each other leading to the head-on collision.
The Nilgiri class frigate, INS Vindhyagiri, was hit by the container-laden Cyprus flag flying MV Nordlake near Sunk Rock Lighthouse off Mumbai causing severe damage to the warship’s structural integrity leading to its total loss.
During the hearing, the bench wondered how a merchant vessel could collide into a warship which technically remained vigilant 24×7 more so when it was one of its kind used for stealth anti-submarine operations. The bench asked additional solicitor general Indira Jaising, who appeared for the Union government, “Yours is a warship. I wonder how vigilant you are that your ship is hit by a merchant vessel.”
Jaising protested against the negligence charge and explained that the date of incident happened to be the Navy Day when all naval ships comprising officers and their families were out in the sea for a “parade”.
The bench said the HC was justified in releasing the ship on payment of the value of the vessel, which was in accordance with the international convention. “You can file a suit and execute a decree. But for what purpose do you want to detain the vessel?” it asked.
Jaising said on the day the accident, the applicable international convention had not come into force. She said: “Several member countries have not signed on the agreement. Moreover, India is not a signatory to the convention.”
She said once the ship was allowed to set sail without deposit of sufficient security, India would lose jurisdiction over the vessel. The bench, however, was not convinced.
Commissioned on July 8, 1981, into the Navy, INS Vindhyagiri was primarily used for anti-submarine operations, ocean patrol and naval gunfire support. The Union government accused MV Nordlake of “recklessly altering its course” to collide with the warship.
The government had filed an admiralty suit against the ship MV Nordlake and its owner MS Nordlake, a company incorporated in Germany, in the Bombay HC and raised a claim for Rs 1058.54 crore. The respondents filed a notice of motion seeking release of the merchant vessel promising to furnish a security of Rs 46.87 crore that was equivalent to the ship’s total value.
Source: The Times of India