CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has directed the Centre to make immediate arrangements for the disembarkation and repatriation of 23 crew members, including 20 Russian nationals, stranded aboard the Cameroon-flagged crude oil tanker MT Unity at Paradip anchorage since May.
In an order passed on October 6, Justice RK Pattanaik held that the vessel qualified as an ‘abandoned vessel’ under the Merchant Shipping Act, as its owner had failed to discharge its statutory obligations towards the crew. The vessel has remained under detention pursuant to court orders in connection with maritime disputes over alleged unpaid bunker fuel dues.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Istyagin Evegeny Nikolaevich, the master of MT Unity. The crew members, who have been stranded for months, were allegedly left without adequate supplies of basic necessities, including food and drinking water.
Justice Pattanaik said the crew “cannot be left abandoned indefinitely till the maritime claims are settled”. He rejected the argument that their replacement and repatriation should be left to the shipowner, contracting parties or insurer.
Directing the Union government, the Shipping Master (Kolkata), the Mercantile Marine Department (Kolkata) and the Director General of Maritime Administration (Maharashtra) to “immediately take charge of the situation”, Justice Pattanaik ordered arrangements for the crew’s disembarkation, replacement and repatriation without further delay.
He said the expenses incurred in the process could be recovered from the shipowner or its agents as a maritime claim. He further directed that the master and other crew members be repatriated “at the earliest”, preferably within three weeks of receipt of the judgment.
The court observed that the owner had failed to discharge its statutory responsibilities and that the vessel was also under detention pursuant to court orders. It, therefore, concluded that MT Unity fell within the definition of an abandoned vessel under Sections 3(2)(d) and 3(2)(e) of the Merchant Shipping Act.
The court also took note of the claim that the flag displayed by the vessel had been disowned by the member state concerned. In these circumstances, it said, the vessel and its crew had to be dealt with under the statutory framework governing abandoned ships and seafarers.
