Kerala High Court Orders Conditional Arrest Of Panaman-Flagged MV MSC Makoto-II In Admiralty Suits Claiming Nearly ₹2.8 Crores In Damages

The Kerala High Court on Thursday ordered the conditional arrest of MV MSC Makoto-II, a vessel flying the flag of Panama in six separate admiralty suits claiming damages totalling around Rupees 2.8 crores.After considering the supporting documents produced by the plaintiffs, Justice Easwaran S. passed the interim orders for arrest of the vessel, which is presently at Vizhinjam Port in Thiruvananthapuram, until security is paid by the ship owners for the aforesaid amount.In the suits, the plaintiffs/petitions claimed that their fishing net, wire rope, board and other materials used for fishing activity were damaged after tangling with the debris of the MV MSC Elsa III ship, which had capsized on 25th May, 2025. Consequently, around 643 containers which were onboard Elsa III were thrown into the sea.Claims of Rs. 31,13,414, Rs. 26,81,500, Rs. 40,06,489, Rs.66,23,579, Rs. 42,24,366, Rs.39,71,820, and Rs.32,83,321.50 were made in the 6 suits. Thus, the ship would be arrested until a total amount of Rs. 2,79,04,489.50 is deposited by the ship owners before the High Court Registry or a security for the amount is furnished.Earlier, the Court had ordered for the conditional arrest of M.V. MSC Polo II, MSC Manasa F, MV MSC Palermo and MV MSC Akiteta II in other suits preferred by the government and various other private parties. Thereafter, the shipowners had filed a suit praying for limitation of liability for maritime claims arising from the losses caused due to the sinkage of MSC Elsa III. However, the same has not yet come before the Court for consideration.The plaint/petition was moved by Advocates Merline Mathew, Vipin P. Varghese, Adarsh Mathew, Anirudh G. Kamath, Agustho Norbert, Megha Madhavan. Senior counsel V.J. Mathew appeared for the plaintiffs.Case No: Adml. Suit Nos. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 of 2025Case Title: Akhilanandan v. Owners and Parties Interested in the vessel MV MSC Makoto II and Anr., and other casesClick to Read/Download Order in Adml. Suit No. 19/2025Click to Read/Download Order in Adml. Suit No. 20/2025Click to Read/Download Order in Adml. Suit No. 21/2025Click to Read/Download Order in Adml. Suit No. 22/2025Click to Read/Download Order in Adml. Suit No. 23/2025Click to Read/Download Order in Adml. Suit No. 24/2025Click to Read/Download Order in Adml. Suit No. 25/2025

Kerala High Court Orders Conditional Arrest Of Panaman-Flagged MV MSC Makoto-II In Admiralty Suits Claiming Nearly ₹2.8 Crores In Damages

K. Salma Jennath

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