Bombay High Court Rules DGS Order Not Applicable to Non-Indian Ships

The Bombay High Court ruled that the accommodation ship certification order issued by the Director General of Shipping in 2022 is not applicable to ships other than Indian ships registered under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1858. Justice GS Kulkarni and Justice Firdosh P Pooniwalla observed that the provisions of the 1958 Act do not apply to the vessels of the petitioner as they do not fall within the category of Indian ships as defined by the Act. The petitioner, Hind Offshore Pvt. Ltd., challenged the detention orders issued for non-compliance with the DGS order, arguing that their ships were registered under different acts and therefore not subject to the provisions of the 1958 Act.

Senior Counsel Virendra Tulzapurkar represented the petitioner in court, while Counsel YR Mishra appeared for the respondents. Hind Offshore Pvt. Ltd. contested the DGS order imposing additional conditions on offshore vessels in the Indian exclusive economic zone, stating that their non-self-propelled barges registered under the Coasting Act and Ships Act 1838 did not qualify as Indian ships under the 1958 Act. The Union of India argued that the order was necessary for public safety, especially during emergencies like cyclones, and justified the detention of vessels for non-compliance.

The court held that the defendant had no authority to detain the plaintiff’s vessels based on the 1958 Act since the vessels did not fall under the Act’s provisions. An injunction was issued ordering the defendants to release the plaintiff’s vessels for contract use, as allowed by law. The ruling clarified that the DGS order applied only to ships covered by the 1958 Act and not to vessels registered under different maritime laws.

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