Admiralty & Maritime Law
Admiralty & Maritime Law · Ahmedabad and across India
Arresting and releasing ships across India’s coastal High Courts.
We act for shipowners, charterers, cargo interests, banks and P&I clubs on ship arrest and release before India’s admiralty High Courts, from Ahmedabad, close to Mundra and Kandla. A vessel can be arrested only by order of the High Court whose waters she lies in, so the first question is where the ship is.
In brief
How ship arrest works in India
Ship arrest is the detention of a vessel by order of a High Court to secure a maritime claim under the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017. The claim must be one of the heads listed in section 4(1). The vessel must be within the court’s waters, which extend up to and including territorial waters (section 3), twelve nautical miles from the baseline under section 3(2) of the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime Zones Act, 1976. The court may require the claimant to give an undertaking to pay damages, or security, if the arrest proves wrongful (section 11(1)).
Last verified 23 October 2026. Section references are to the Admiralty Act, 2017. Our guides below give the sources for each point.
Arrest desk
Where is the vessel? We’ll tell you which court to file in.
A vessel is arrested in the High Court with admiralty jurisdiction over the waters where she lies (sections 3 and 5). Choose the port. Where we have not confirmed the answer from the court’s rules, we say so and ask you to call.
Guidance only. The right court depends on the facts and on the court’s rules. Call us and we will confirm it.
Mundra is on the Gujarat coast. It was the first Indian port to handle more than 200 MMT in a year (APSEZ filing, FY2024-25).
What we do
What we handle, from arrest to release
Ship arrest & release
Applications for arrest and release, service of the warrant on the port officer and customs, and release against security the court accepts.
Maritime claims & liens
Claims under section 4(1), the five liens in section 9(1) and priority under section 10: crew wages, salvage, port dues, supplies and bunkers.
Cargo & carriage disputes
Loss, damage and misdelivery, and bill of lading and charterparty claims, including under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 2025.
Ship finance & mortgages
Enforcing ship mortgages for Indian and foreign lenders and protecting priority against competing claims.
Casualty, collision & pollution
Collision, grounding, wreck removal, limitation of liability and marine pollution claims, including claims of the kind raised after the MSC Elsa 3 casualty.
GIFT City leasing & arbitration
Ship leasing at GIFT City IFSC, vessel registration, and maritime arbitration, including GIMAC at GIFT City.
How it runs
From your call to the warrant
Reported matters
Recent Indian arrest activity
Reported matters that show how courts have dealt with arrest, including in Gujarat.
Reported matters, shown to illustrate practice. This page does not suggest Candour Legal acted in them. Details and sources are in our guide to ship arrest.
Home waters
Why Gujarat
We are in Ahmedabad, and Gujarat’s ports and courts are where many of these matters arise.
- Mundra handled 200.7 MMT in FY2024-25 and was the first Indian port to pass 200 MMT in a year (APSEZ filing).
- The Gujarat High Court has ordered arrests at Kandla (Deendayal Port) in the matters reported above.
- GIFT City reported 38 registered ship lessors and 43 leased vessels at a summit on 10 September 2026, and hosts GIMAC, set up under Gujarat Maritime University with an IFSCA MoU.
Who we act for
Both sides of the arrest
Shipowners & charterers
Resisting or lifting arrest, providing security, limitation of liability, and charterparty, demurrage and laytime disputes.
Cargo interests & traders
Securing claims for cargo loss, damage and misdelivery against the carrying vessel and, where the Act allows, another vessel.
Banks & mortgagees
Enforcing ship mortgages and protecting priority against competing lien claims.
P&I clubs & overseas counsel
India counsel for clubs, owners and overseas solicitors who need a coordinated arrest or release.
Why now
India’s maritime statutes changed in 2025 and 2026
- The Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 2025 (Act 19 of 2025) has applied since 10 September 2025.
- The Indian Ports Act, 2025 (Act 27 of 2025) has applied since 1 April 2026.
- The Merchant Shipping Act, 2025 (Act 24 of 2025) replaces the 1958 Act, and rules under it have been notified in stages since March 2026.
- The Admiralty Act, 2017 as passed refers to the 1908 Ports Act and the 1958 Merchant Shipping Act, both now replaced.
Guides
Read the law, with sources
Each guide cites the section of the Act or the order it relies on, and shows a last-verified date.
Questions
Ship arrest in India: your questions
How do you arrest a ship in India?
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File an admiralty suit in the High Court with jurisdiction over the waters where the vessel lies, plead a maritime claim under section 4(1) of the Admiralty Act, 2017, and ask for arrest under section 5. The court may require you to give an undertaking to pay damages, or security, if the arrest proves wrongful or the security excessive (section 11(1)). Each High Court’s own admiralty rules govern procedure until central rules are made (section 16(3)).
Which High Courts have admiralty jurisdiction in India?
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Section 2(1)(e) names the High Courts of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Karnataka, Gujarat, Orissa and Kerala, and the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and lets the Central Government notify others. Each exercises jurisdiction over waters up to and including territorial waters within its jurisdiction (section 3). The Gujarat High Court has ordered arrests at Kandla (Deendayal Port). Call us to confirm the filing court for a particular port.
Can a foreign-flagged ship be arrested in India?
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Yes. The Act applies to every vessel irrespective of the owner’s residence or domicile (section 1(2)), apart from inland vessels, unlaunched vessels not notified, warships, government vessels used for non-commercial purposes, and notified foreign vessels used for non-commercial purposes. The Supreme Court held in M.V. Elisabeth v. Harwan Investment and Trading, decided 26 February 1992, that an Indian High Court could arrest a foreign ship on cargo claims.
How long does it take to arrest a ship in India?
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The Act sets no timeline. In urgent cases the court can act quickly: in MV Nikator the Gujarat High Court ordered arrest at Kandla and allowed the warrant to be executed at any time, including at night, on Sundays and on public holidays. Speed depends on how soon the plaint and supporting papers are ready, which is why early instruction matters.
Can a sister ship be arrested in India?
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Section 5(2) lets the court order arrest of any other vessel to provide security for a maritime claim, in place of the vessel the claim is made against, subject to section 5(1). It cannot be used for a claim about ownership or possession under section 4(1)(a). In the MSC Elsa 3 matter the Kerala High Court conditionally arrested MSC Akiteta II on the State of Kerala’s suit.
How is an arrested ship released, and what security is required?
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The court fixes the security. It can be a deposit in court, as in MV Nikator. Indian courts do not accept P&I club letters of undertaking as of right but may where the plaintiff agrees. If the owner abandons the vessel after arrest, the court auctions it within 45 days, extendable by 30 (section 11(3)).
What claims can a ship be arrested for?
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Section 4(1) lists 23 heads, including ownership or possession disputes, mortgages, loss or damage caused by the vessel’s operation, death or personal injury, loss of or damage to goods, charterparty and carriage agreements, salvage, towage, pilotage, supplies and services including bunker fuel, repairs, port dues, crew wages, average, environmental damage and wreck removal. Only five are maritime liens (section 9(1)).
Can a ship be arrested for a charterer’s unpaid bunkers?
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A claim for bunker fuel or necessaries is a maritime claim under section 4(1)(l) but not a maritime lien under section 9(1). Arrest under section 5(1) requires reason to believe the owner or demise charterer at the time the claim arose is liable. A supplier who dealt only with a time or voyage charterer may therefore be unable to arrest the vessel. Check the contract chain before filing.
Talk to Manasvi Thapar
Founder, Arbitration & Litigation. Call or WhatsApp. Tell us the vessel, the port and the expected sailing time.