In a decisive ruling prioritizing human rights, the Bombay High Court ordered the immediate release of 50 seafarers stranded for months on three detained vessels off Mumbai’s coast. The court criticized ship owners for subjecting the crew to “dehumanizing” living conditions, revealing that they were surviving on just 300 ml of water daily. The seafarers had filed a habeas corpus petition, asserting that their confinement posed serious health risks.
A division bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Hiten Venegaonkar directed the Yellow Gate police to present all crew members in court. After hearing their accounts and assessing their living conditions, the bench emphasized the necessity of prioritizing human lives over commercial interests, stating that the owners could manage their arrested property while the court safeguarded the crew’s well-being.
The vessels—MT Asphalt Star, MT Stellar Ruby, and MT Al Jafzia—were arrested for alleged illegal mid-sea fuel transfers, after which the crew claimed they were effectively abandoned. Despite the legal detention of the ships, the seafarers argued they faced wrongful detention due to inadequate provisions for survival. The court expressed outrage at the owners’ neglect, likening the crew’s rations to those of household pets.
Concluding that the health risks posed to the seafarers were unacceptable, the court directed the police to facilitate their release, underscoring that while the ships remained under arrest, the crew should not be treated as collateral. The ruling effectively ended the seafarers’ prolonged ordeal at sea.
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