- (1.)THE present Admiralty Suit is filed by the plaintiff for obtaining a decree in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendants for an amount of Rs. 6 lakhs alleging the loss and damages suffered by the plaintiff due to negligence of masters of defendant no. 1-Tug Joshua and defendant no. 2-Vessel M. V. Josefina C. The say of the plaintiff is that the defendants are jointly and severally liable to make the loss of Rs. 6 lakhs good from the date of filing of the suit till its realization. At the time of filing of the suit, the plaintiff also prayed for arrest of the defendant no. 1-Tug and defendant no. 2-Vessel along with their respective hull, tackle, engines, machinery, equipment, etc. by praying for issuance of warrant of arrest.
(2.)FIRSTLY it is necessary to state the case of the plaintiff in nutshell. It is alleged that the plaintiff is a businessman carrying on the business in the name and style of 'shree Ram Steel and Rolling Industries (Unit-2)', as a sole proprietor and was carrying on the business at 101, Ship Breaking Yard, Sosiya, Alang, Dist. Bhavnagar. The plaintiff is having its office at 2, Samrat Chambers, Khergada Street, Khargate, Bhavnagar and at the relevant point of time, defendant no. 1 was towing defendant no. 2-Vessel, which was supposed to be beached. According to the plaintiff, the vessel of the plaintiff i. e. M. V. Ithaki, had arrived at port Alang Ship Breaking Yard on 10th November 2001 and was lying there since then. The plaintiff purchased the said vessel on 20th November 2001 for a lump sum price of US$ 638369. One TDD Overseas, the Agent of the seller and the master of the said vessel delivered the said vessel to the plaintiff at 17-30 hours on 20th November 2001. The plaintiff was also given the bill of sale on 22nd November 2001. When this vessel M. V. Ithaki was awaiting for being beached, the defendant no. 2-Vessel which was towed by defendant no. 1 collided with the plaintiff's vessel M. V. Ithaki at 13-25 hours on 14th December 2001 and caused serious damage to the vessel of the plaintiff-M. V. Ithaki. On 14th December 2001, the master of vessel M. V. Ithaki addressed a letter to the masters of defendant no. 1-Tug and defendant no. 2-Vessel, stating the factum of collision and damage, holding the masters of the defendants responsible for the aforesaid collision and all the losses arising out of the said collision. A copy of the letter along with the relevant documents issued by the master of vessel M. V. Ithaki is on record. The masters of defendants had signed a collision report dated 14th December 2001 and this fact is a matter of clear admission as to the collision which had occurred at 13-25 hours on 14th December 2001. This collision had also damaged the port side ladder completely. On 15th December 2001, the plaintiff addressed a letter to the Port Officer, Gujarat Maritime Board, informing him about the collision and indicating that the plaintiff would be making an appropriate claim for damage on defendants. The said letter is also on record. One M/s. Munna Scrap Traders purchased defendant no. 2-Vessel for breaking it at Port No. 107. The plaintiff, therefore, vide letter dated 19th December 2001 informed the said Trader and intimated him about the damage caused to the vessel owned by the plaintiff. It was pointed out that the plaintiff is in process of ascertaining the actual damage and would be making claim with respect to the damage caused. It is alleged that since the loss was the result of negligence of masters of defendants, the Gujarat Maritime Board did not issue 'no Due Certificate' to defendant no. 1-Tug.
(3.)THE case of the plaintiff is that the Sigma Marine, Surveyor, surveyed the damage done to the plaintiff's vessel and has given its report; and the said report clearly shows that the damage caused to the plaintiff's vessel is to the tune of Rs. 6 lakhs. The said Survey Report is produced with a separate list by the plaintiff. On receipt of the report, the plaintiff served a notice through his advocate on 22nd December 2001 to both the defendants herein, calling upon them to pay the damage to the tune of Rs. 6 lakhs to the plaintiff for the loss and damage caused to his vessel. It is alleged that the collision occurred solely due to the negligence of the masters of defendants as they had violated the Collision Regulations and normal sea practice. A copy of the notice was also sent to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Bhavnagar; Coast Guard, Porbandar; Traffic Manager, Gujarat Maritime Board, Gandhinagar; and also to the agent of defendant no. 1-Tug. The Gujarat Maritime Board responded to the notice on 24th December 2001 and communicated to the plaintiff to settle the issue amicably with the owner of defendant no. 1 through its agent Demo Shipping Services, Bhavnagar, so that they can release defendant no. 1-Tug at the earliest. But the plaintiff failed to settle his claim and, therefore, apprehending the escape of defendant no. 1, the plaintiff filed a suit for recovery from the defendants for the loss suffered by the plaintiff in pursuance of the damage caused to the plaintiff's vessel.