After 2 failed auctions, HC accepts ₹2.85 cr bid for MV Sencer 1

The Bombay high court on Thursday accepted a ₹2.85 crore bid from A A Associates at the vessel’s third auction

Mumbai: After spending more than a year docked at the Mumbai Port and surviving two failed auctions, the abandoned cargo vessel MV Sencer 1 has finally found a buyer. The Bombay high court on Friday accepted a ₹2.85 crore bid from A A Associates at the vessel’s third auction, saying the offer was fair and that no purpose would be served in re-auctioning the vessel.

Bombay High Court. Photo by Girish Srivastava/HT 08-01-02

“Considering that the past two auctions and the last one even for scrapping purposes had failed, I do not think that re-auction may yield a better price,” Justice Ahuja observed in his order dated August 21.

The court’s order, however, listed the vessel’s dues which included ₹69.82 lakh owed to K E Salvage Corporation for food supplied to the seamen who were keeping watch on the vessel and ₹1.63 lakh owed to the National Union of Seafarers India (NUSI) for advertising the auction through an ad agency.

The Zanzibar-flagged MV Sencer 1 was arrested in October 2024 in a legal dispute over unpaid claims. After its Indonesian crew was repatriated in June 2025, NUSI, through a manning agent, arranged for seafarers to remain on board.

The arrangement came with its own difficulties. On June 2, HT had reported how five seafarers spent around 10 months on the ship without power and in unhygienic conditions, taking turns to stay aboard in pairs. They finally disembarked in May after a court order. However, a new manning agent was appointed to deploy fresh crew on the defunct vessel.

NUSI’s lawyer Kunal Gaikwad had asked the court to discharge the union and the manning agent of the responsibility of deploying crew, citing “stress on finances and the inhospitable condition for the crew members on board the vessel.”

NUSI and the Directorate General of Shipping, represented by advocate Ashish Mehta, had supported the third auction of the vessel.

The vessel had been through two unsuccessful auctions held in July and October in 2025. At the latest auction, four bids were received with the vessel’s purchase being sought for scrapping. A A Associates initially offered ₹1.45 crore, but the bidding became a close contest between the firm and K E Salvage Corporation, with A A Associates eventually scoring with its winning bid.

The court said that the highest bid exceeded the value for scrapping given by the valuer and would be a “viable option” in the given circumstances.

The court is expected to pass further directions in the matter at the next hearing on August 29.