Crew Desert 'Arrested Ship,' Plead in India High Court

In a courtroom drama the captain of the Korean ship told the court the abandoned ship's engine room was flooded and there was danger of a capsize.

MV OSM Arena had been anchored off the Port of Chennai since February 2010 following cases filed by different parties against the owners in the Calcutta and Madras high courts to recover their dues, and it has been under ‘arrest’ since September 2012, reports The New Indian Express.

When a matter pertaining to the sale of the ship came up before Justice R Sudhakar at the Madras High Court, the captain of the vessel, Yethi Ka, made a surprise appearance before the judge.

Yethi Ka told the court he had abandoned the ship on Tuesday morning and reached the shore using a fishing boat that was passing by. The ship’s 14-member Myanmarese crew had been surviving on dry rations alone since April 4, when the previous owners had stopped the supply of provisions.

The ship had run out of diesel, so it was no longer in a position to pump out the water that was entering the engine room and it could capsize if no urgent measures are adopted to stabilize it, he warned the court.

The ship is currently being monitored by the Coast Guard and the Navy. Tug boats have also been placed on stand-by.

Source: The New Indian Express