The plaintiff engaged the service of the owners of the vessel MV KMTC Manila to transport a cargo of frozen broccoli from Ludhiana, India, to Nagoya and Tokyo, Japan. The bill of lading issued by the shipowner provided that the cargo would be carried at -25^o C. The containers faced temperature issues or fluctuations during transit, and the cargo had to be restuffed into new containers. The cargo was restuffed in Malaysia in the open air, which should not have been done, given the temperature sensitivity of the cargo. The plaintiff also claimed that the cargo, while under the shipowner's custody, was exposed to temperatures up to 16^o C. Consequently, the cargo had rotted and or decayed, and was rejected by the consignee.

The plaintiff sued the shipowner for losses sustained as a result of the shipowner's breach of the contract of carriage. The plaintiff also submitted that the shipowner was liable under the provisions of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1924 (the Act).

The plaintiff sought the arrest of the vessel.

Held: Arrest of the vessel ordered.

The plaintiff's claims arose on account of the shipowner's breach of the bills of lading (contracts of carriage) between them. They were therefore maritime claims contemplated by, among others, ss 4(1)(f) and 4(1)(g) of the Admiralty (Jurisdiction & Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act 2017 (the Admiralty Act). The right to arrest the vessel for these maritime claims was to be found in s 5(2) read with s 5(1) of the Admiralty Act.

There was a cause of action in favour of the plaintiff. Since the defendant was at the time at Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai, it was within the admiralty jurisdiction of the Court. The plaintiff had made out a prima facie case. The balance of convenience lay with the plaintiff, to whom irreversible prejudice would be caused if the relief sought was denied. Accordingly, the vessel was ordered to be arrested wherever it was within the territorial waters of India until the satisfaction of the plaintiff's claim.

If, after service of the arrest order, the vessel is not released by furnishing security or bail, or an application for vacating the order of arrest is not filed within 45 days, or the vessel is found abandoned by the person in charge of it or its owner, or if it is found uncrewed, a report for auctioning the vessel shall be presented upon the plaintiff's request within 14 days. The plaintiff is also entitled to file an application for sale of the vessel prior to the 45-day period, if it is apparent that the shipowner will not furnish security or file an application for vacating the order of arrest or if the circumstances are such that the sale of the vessel is justified.