The Orissa High Court has ordered the sale of an Indonesian ship, anchored at the Paradip port, almost eight months after seizure of cocaine banned substance worth Rs 220 crore from the merchant ship.

Justice V Narasingh of Orissa High Court, adjudicating an admiralty suit filed by Paradip International Cargo Terminal (PICT) seeking a decree against the cargo ship to pay a sum of Rs 7.95 crore towards berth and penal berth charges, pronounced the order on Tuesday

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“The Deputy Registrar (Judicial) of Orissa High Court shall act as Court Commissioner till the sale of the vessel M.V. Devi. The Court Commissioner shall appoint “Adoina Offshore Consultants Private Limited” in terms of the memo filed by the Plaintiff (PICT) as surveyors as well as valuers to submit report for ascertaining the valuation of the vessel both for scraping as well as for trading to him in a sealed cover on or before 21 September 2024”, the order stated.

Customs officials had seized the cocaine from the Denmark-bound cargo ship at Paradip Port on 1 December last. Based on intelligence that suspected narcotics drugs packets are concealed in a Panama registered Ship- MV Debi berthed at Paradip International Cargo Terminal, Paradip that had arrived from Gresik port, Indonesia in ballast, the Customs officers of the Bhubaneswar Customs (preventive) Commissionerate had searched the ship on midnight of 30 November and on 1 December and busted the major drug haul.

At least 22 packets, wrapped and affixed with magnet, were recovered from the ship. The packets concealed in the crane weighed 22.2 kg of cocaine. The market value of the banned substances was estimated at Rs 220 crores.

The High Court earlier on 24 February passed the order for the arrest (impounding) of the merchant ship Section 4 (1) (m) of the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017.

A Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance court in Kujang had earlier asked the owners of the ship to furnish Rs 110 crore indemnity bond and bank guarantee for its release.

It is further submitted that each day’s delay is contributing for increasing the claim of the plaintiff and steps for sale of the defendant vessel needs to be undertaken since the value of the defendant vessel is depreciating by each passing day, on account of the same remaining idle under arrest and it is submitted that any further delay would affect the seaworthiness of the vessel which would adversely impact the price that vessel is capable of fetching to make good the claims of the plaintiff and further creditors of the defendant vessel, according to the High Court order.