A Neha Shipping bulk carrier has been arrested in the Indian port of Deendayal after the owner of a cargo of logs it shipped from Malaysia was found to be short by 40 pieces.
Shanker International arrested the 31,500-dwt Nav Neha (built 2010) on Tuesday after lodging a $10,368m claim against the ship.
According to court records, Shanker signed a freight agreement with the charterer of the vessel to transport 560 logs to Kandla port but only received 520 once the cargo had been discharged.
The timber importer told the court that it subsequently learned that the missing 40 logs remain on board the bulker.
Shanker said it had been informed that the owner of the ship had instructed the master not to berth and discharge the remains due to “some internal issues” between the owner and its charterer.
Shanker added that it and the other cargo receivers — there are reportedly a total of 292 logs remaining on board — are not concerned about the dispute. They’ve paid their freight, and they want their logs.
They are suing the ship and its owner, who are the holders of the bills of lading and are therefore responsible for any lost or undelivered cargo.
Indian maritime lawyer Shashank Agrawal of SSA Legal told TradeWinds that cases which involve an issue over the carriage of goods on a vessel routinely lead to the arrest of the vessel in question.
“It is important for owners and charterers to weigh in their legal and commercial options as otherwise the vessel could be standing for days making the dispute value disproportionate to the claim value in question,” he said.
The Nav Neha, Neha Shipping’s only vessel, remained under arrest on Thursday.
TradeWinds was unable to reach the shipowner for comment.
