Merchant Shipping Act, 1958

The New Mangalore Port Trust advertised a vacancy for Deputy Conservator, requiring ten years of experience as a Master of a foreign‑going ship or in pilotage/dredging. Captain Subhash Kumar (respondent No.4) had six years as Master and nine years as Pilot, while the appellant had two years as Master and eleven years a…

The plaintiff, a Goan shipping company, sued the owners of the foreign vessel M.V. Elisabeth for conversion of cargo after the ship left Marmagao without the required bills of lading and delivered the goods abroad against the plaintiff's instructions. The Andhra Pradesh High Court arrested the vessel in Vishakhapatnam …

Capt. S. M. Rebello was appointed as master of the vessel M.V. Anastasia for a one‑year term. The ship was sold as scrap and his services were terminated on 20 December 1980. He claimed full‑year wages, arguing that under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 a master is treated as a seaman and is entitled to compensation on…

The Kerala Government issued two notifications under Section 4 of the Kerala Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1980, restricting bottom‑trawling by mechanised boats during the monsoon period and prescribing technical specifications for vessels allowed to fish beyond territorial waters. Mechanised boat owners challenged th…

A Panama‑registered vessel carrying Ukrainian crew entered Indian territorial waters without authorization and was arrested by the Coast Guard. The Customs Department seized the cargo and later confiscated the vessel under the Customs Act, 1962. The chief officer and other crew members filed applications seeking paymen…

Captain Subash Kumar, master of the Panamanian‑flagged MV Eamaco, was charged under section 363 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 for alleged negligence in failing to launch lifeboats when the ship sank 232 nautical miles from India. The appellant contended that the Act did not apply because the vessel was foreign, th…

Halliburton Offshore Services and others sought to challenge the revocation of a Provisional Certificate of Registry (PCOR) issued for the vessel Sita Devi. The Supreme Court examined the statutory requirements under Section 40 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 for granting a PCOR and whether such a certificate could …

World Tanker Carrier Corp (WTCC), a Liberian company, owned the vessel New World which collided on the high seas with the Cyprus‑registered vessel YA Mawlaya, resulting in deaths and damages. Various claimants filed suits in the United States, while SNP Shipping Services (an Indian company) and Kara Mara Shipping (Cypr…

Chowgule & Co. Private Ltd. and V.S. Dempo & Co. imported second‑hand tankers that were converted into transhippers for topping‑up iron ore at Mormugao harbour. The Customs authorities demanded that the companies file Bills of Entry for the vessels, treating them as "goods for home consumption" under s.46 of the Custom…

The petitioners, relatives of ten Indian seafarers who disappeared when the foreign‑flagged tug Jupiter‑6 went missing in September 2005, filed a writ under Article 32 seeking a marine casualty investigation and compensation, alleging violation of their right to life under Article 21. The Court examined whether the Uni…

The case concerned importers of specialised transhipper vessels who claimed exemption from customs duty under Notification No. 262‑Customs dated 11 October 1958, which exempted "ocean‑going vessels". The Customs authorities insisted that the vessels were not "ocean‑going" and required the importers to file Bills of Ent…

Petromarine Products Ltd. filed an admiralty suit in the Bombay High Court seeking a decree and attachment of sale proceeds of the vessel MV Eleni, which was already arrested and placed under the jurisdiction of the Madras High Court where a suit by another creditor had been filed. The Madras Court, exercising exclusiv…

The Supreme Court entertained a public‑interest writ filed by M.C. Mehta challenging the employment of children below fourteen in hazardous factories and mines in Sivakasi and elsewhere, alleging violation of the fundamental right under Article 24 of the Constitution. The Court examined the constitutional mandate under…

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. sued the foreign vessel M.V. Kapitan Kud for damage to an international submarine cable, alleging the ship’s anchor caused a break. The Bombay High Court arrested the vessel and later ordered its release on security, a decision appealed to the Supreme Court. The Court examined whether the appe…

The respondents, International Trading Co. and others, held permits under the Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of Fishing by Foreign Vessels) Act, 1981 to operate foreign deep‑sea fishing vessels in India's exclusive economic zone. Their permits were not renewed after the initial term, and the authorities gave no re…

The Chairman V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust appointed Capt. Paul Nadar Bennet Singh as a Pilot Officer in 2008 on a regular basis, subject to him qualifying in a pilot‑license examination. In 2012 the Trust terminated his service, alleging that his Certificate of Competency (CoC) as Master issued by the Maritime and Po…

The petitioners, former Indian Navy officers, were issued Certificates of Service (COS) under the now‑repealed Section 80 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 and later employed in the merchant navy. After India ratified the STCW Convention (1978, amended 1995), the government issued Merchant Shipping Notices and Rules r…

Two Indian fishermen were killed when an Italian-flagged vessel, M.T. Enrica Lexie, allegedly opened fire while its Naval Military Protection Squad (NMP) was on board. The Kerala Police detained the vessel and a Circle Inspector issued a notice prohibiting it from sailing without permission. The vessel challenged the d…

The police intercepted the vessel M.V. Seaman Guard Ohio within Indian territorial waters and seized a large quantity of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, leading to a charge sheet under the Arms Act, 1959 and other statutes. The accused challenged the charge sheet through revision (s.397) and a petition under the in…