Judge orders seizure of ship with sub standard diesel

Kumudu Hettiarachchi

Colombo High Court Judge M C B S Moraes yesterday ordered the seizure of a ship belonging to a Vietnamese company, bringing a stock of 4,500 mt of sub standard diesel from Singapore presently anchored at the Trincomalee Harbour.

The High Court Judge who directed that this order be carried out through the Judicial Harbour Marshal also informed the Sri Lanka Navy to prevent the ship being moved out of the Sri Lankan territorial limits.

The High Court Judge issued the order to arrest the ship M T Vilia Lines Glory after considering a petition filed by the Indian Oil Company.

Although the stock of diesel valued at US $ 13 million conformed to CPC specifications when it was ordered by the IOC from a company in Singapore, it had changed its colour and seemed of inferior quality when it was examined before unloading at the Trincomalee harbour.

The IOC petition stated that even though IOC requested Glenco Company (Pvt) Ltd of Singapore to take back this sub standard and inferior stock of diesel, there were moves by the company to take over the stock at a price which was two and a half million dollars less than the original quoted price.

The IOC which said the quality of the diesel stock had been changed during transit, prayed that the stock of diesel be retained until the IOC recovered the loss incurred by the deal.

The IOC had at the same time ordered 5,500 mts of Marine Diesel and 11,000 mts petrol from the same company which had also been shipped by the same ship.

But this stock of marine diesel and petrol had been unloaded at the Colombo Harbour as they were of the original quality conforming to CPC specifications.

Attorneys Udaya Dhammika Udabage and Niranjan Abeyratne appeared for the IOC.

The case will be called again on March 27.