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. |