Mumbai, August 14, 2026: The Bombay High Court has ordered urgent steps for discharge of 1,880.26 metric tonnes of highly inflammable LPG from an arrested vessel at Jaigarh Port, Ratnagiri, after being told that serious defects in the ship’s safety systems posed a potential risk to human life, port infrastructure and the environment.
Justice Abhay Ahuja passed the order last week while hearing an interim application filed by JSW Jaigarh Port Ltd. The vessel, LPG Amir Gas, had been arrested by the court in April in a commercial admiralty dispute, and an earlier order had restrained the discharge of its cargo.
Critical Safety Defects Found
The court was informed that the LPG required continuous cooling. However, an inspection by the Directorate General of Shipping on August 5 found several critical defects, including a non-functional main cargo cooling pump, an inoperative water sprinkler firefighting system and sprinkler pumps, and a non-operational inert gas system. The vessel’s protection and indemnity insurance had also expired.
Senior Advocate Prashant Pratap, appearing for the port, submitted that failure to maintain the cargo temperature could result in an explosion, endangering the crew and causing extensive damage to the vessel, port facilities, other ships and the surrounding environment. The court was told that an explosion could potentially cause damage within a radius of 5 to 10 km.
Security Deposit Condition
Considering the “exigent circumstances”, the court ruled that any party depositing AED 34,78,481 as security could have the LPG cargo discharged in its favour. The plaintiff agreed to deposit the amount, after which it was permitted to proceed with the discharge.
The court also directed Customs to facilitate the discharge and ordered the plaintiff to supply at least 50 MT of marine gas oil and 10 kilolitres of lube oil. Emergency repairs identified in the DG Shipping inspection report were also ordered to be carried out until the cargo was completely discharged.
Authorities Told To Prepare
Importantly, the court made it clear that if the security amount is not deposited, the permission to discharge the LPG would not take effect. However, given the danger posed by the cargo, the DG Shipping, National, State and District Disaster Management Authorities were directed to plan and prepare for a safe discharge even if no amount is deposited, so as to avert a possible disaster or catastrophe arising from leakage.
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The court also directed the vessel owner to provide adequate food and fresh water to the crew and obtain P&I insurance within a week. The arrest of the vessel will continue even after the LPG cargo is discharged.
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