Kerala HC Allows Repatriation of Wan Hai 503 Crew Detained for a Year After Onboard Fire

The Master and Chief Officer of M.V. Wan Hai 503, held in India since June 2025 after a maritime fire, may return home under a Rs. 25 lakh bank guarantee and undertaking to appear when required.

The High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam has permitted the Master and Chief Officer of the container vessel M.V. Wan Hai 503 to leave India and return to their respective countries of residence, nearly a year after they were detained following an onboard fire that broke out on 9 June 2025. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, sitting singly, disposed of the writ petition on the day it came up for admission, 8 June 2026, holding that the continued indefinite detention of the two seafarers was against the principles of the IMO Guidelines on Fair Treatment of Seafarers in the Event of a Maritime Accident, 2006. The court imposed a bank guarantee of Rs. 25 lakhs and conditions securing the petitioners' future availability for investigation and trial.

The Fire, the Detention, and the Criminal Case

On 9 June 2025, M.V. Wan Hai 503 caught fire while passing through the outer sea area of Beypore, approximately 44 nautical miles from Azheekal, Kerala. The fire caused an oil leak, containers fell into the sea, and hazardous gases and chemical substances were emitted from those containers. The vessel was subsequently towed to Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates on 24 August 2025.

The two petitioners — Wei Chun-Ju, a 44-year-old Taiwanese national serving as Master, and Tao Peng, a 35-year-old Chinese national serving as Chief Officer — were detained at Mangalore in connection with the incident. Following a complaint, the Coastal Police Station, Fort Kochi registered Crime No. 15/2025 on 17 June 2025 for offences under Sections 282, 285, 286, 287, 288 and Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The passports of five persons including the petitioners were seized and produced before the Magistrate's Court.

A parallel investigation was also being conducted by the Mercantile Marine Department, Mangalore (the third respondent) and the Director General of Shipping (the fourth respondent) under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. The FIR was registered on 17 June 2025, and by the date of the hearing, the investigation had been running for close to twelve months without completion.

The Coastal Police's Objection

The Station House Officer of the Coastal Police Station, Fort Kochi (the seventh respondent) opposed repatriation. The counter affidavit stated that the petitioners held decisive leadership positions aboard the vessel and that it was necessary to examine whether they had committed lapses. The police also expressed concern that the petitioners might change their addresses and fail to appear before the court, making it impossible to complete the investigation.

The Union of India and respondents 2 to 4 — the Principal Officer of the Mercantile Marine Department Kochi, the Mercantile Marine Department Mangalore, and the Director General of Shipping — took a different position. They filed a statement saying they had no objection to the petitioners' repatriation, provided their future availability was secured to safeguard the investigation and ensure their presence whenever required by competent authorities.

Why the Court Permitted Departure

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas examined the nature of the offences and the length of the detention together. On the criminal case, the court observed that Section 285 BNS had already been deleted from the charge. The remaining offences — Sections 282, 286, 287, and 288 r/w Section 3(5) of BNS — are all bailable in nature and punishable with imprisonment, fine, or both.

The court pointed to the absence of any indication from the seventh respondent as to when the investigation would be completed. The petitioners had been detained from 9 June 2025 onwards, and the investigation had been ongoing for almost twelve months with no end in sight. The court found that their continued indefinite presence in India was not necessary for the investigation to proceed, particularly since conditions could be imposed to secure their appearance.

On the IMO guidelines, the court acknowledged that the Guidelines on Fair Treatment of Seafarers in the Event of a Maritime Accident, 2006 are framed by the International Maritime Organization and are not legally binding. Nevertheless, Justice Thomas held that “the said principle cannot be disregarded lightly.” The prolonged detention of the seafarers, the court found, ran against those principles.

The court also drew a distinction between the need for the petitioners to answer the crime if a chargesheet is ultimately filed and the need for their physical presence in India in the interim. The former could be addressed through conditions; the latter was not justified indefinitely.

Conditions Imposed for Repatriation

The court permitted the petitioners to leave India and return to their respective countries of residence subject to four conditions.

Each petitioner must execute a bank guarantee of Rs. 25,00,000 (Rupees Twenty-Five Lakhs) in favour of the Mercantile Marine Department, Mangalore (the third respondent). The guarantee must be for a period of one year and must be renewed every year until both the criminal case and the proceedings before respondents 1 to 4 are completed.

The petitioners must appear either in person or online before any court of law or before any of respondents 1 to 4, as and when directed by the relevant court or authority.

The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I, Fort Kochi, which holds the seized passports, must return those passports to the petitioners immediately upon their filing an affidavit undertaking to appear before the court as and when required.

If the petitioners fail to comply with any direction regarding their presence — whether in person or online — the third respondent is at liberty to encash the bank guarantee and initiate appropriate proceedings to secure their presence.

Outcome

The writ petition was disposed of on 8 June 2026, the same day it came up for admission. The petitioners, who had been residing at the Ocean Pearl Inn, Mangalore since their detention, are now free to return to Taiwan and China respectively once the bank guarantee conditions are fulfilled and their passports are returned by the Magistrate's Court at Fort Kochi. The criminal investigation in Crime No. 15/2025 and the proceedings under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 continue.