The Mumbai High Court of India ordered the detained 'Stellar Ruby', 'Asphalt Star' and 'Chiltern', formerly known as the 'Al Jafzia', all having been intercepted off the Mumbai Coast on Feb 6, to be shifted to the Alang ship recycling yard in Gujarat. The owners of the vesselsfiled a petition seeking release of the vessels and permission to sail while investigations continue. However, the court on May 6 ordered to shift the vessels from Mumbai to Alang, citing maritime safety concerns and navigational risks posed by keeping the vessels anchored offshore for a longer period of time. The tankers were detained by the Indian Coast Guard approximately 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai in the Arabian Sea. The Indian authorities alleged that the vessels were engaged in unauthorized STS transfer operations involving Iranian bitumen and fuel, using deceptive practices, including switching off their location-tracking systems. During the hearing on May 6, an advocate representing the Coast Guard and the Director General of Shipping informed the Mumbai High court that another bench of the same court had, on May 5 ordered the release of 50 stranded seafarers, who were confined under severe humanitarian conditions aboard the vessels for approximately three months. The crew members of the tankers had allegedly survived on only 300 ml of potable water per day with no electricity or essential supplies on board. The owners requested additional time for replacement of crew but was rejected the plea to delay the release of crew members. The advocate further argued that the vessels with no crew members posed high risks to maritime security and vessel traffic. He submitted that the ships could be moved to Alang ship recycling yard, as legal proceedings and dispute resolution may take considerable time. Following the submissions, the court declined the owners' request to sail their vessels freely and instead directed them to be moved to Alang, where they would remain under the authorities' legal custody pending resolution of the case.
News
VLADIMIR LATYSHEV
Sold/Decommissioned
The "Vladimir Latyshev", which has stuck in the port of Saint-Malo since March 2022 following European sanctions against Moscow, will soon be sold. The auction, ordered by the courts, could take place in early autumn. The port of Saint-Malo was contacted on May 5, 2026, by a bailiff to prepare for the auction of the bulk carrier. The shipowner, the Russian company Alpha LLC, stopped reimbursing the expenses incurred by the Saint-Malo-based group Timac Agro in February 2025 and was ordered to pay €125,960 in outstanding debts on Dec 16.
