An Indian court has ordered the sale of a seized Vietnamese bulk carrier several months after 22 kilograms of cocaine were found on board.

The Panama-flagged handysize vessel Debi, owned by Vietnamese shipping company Asia Pacific Shipping, had been anchored in Paradip port since the drug was discovered last year, but was seized for unpaid dock fees.

Six months ago, Justice V. Narasingh of the Orissa High Court ordered the seizure of the 2012-built vessel as part of a maritime litigation brought by Paradip International Cargo Terminal (PITC) to recover nearly $1 million in port dues.

Despite the owner’s argument that the vessel was only liable for the payments made before its detention, PITC filed a motion earlier this month for the judicial sale of the Devi on the grounds that further berthing costs were being incurred while the vessel’s condition was deteriorating and its value was decreasing day by day.

The Orissa High Court ruled in favour of PITC and ordered the sale of the Debi once the court receives a survey report and an estimate of the vessel’s value by September 21. The vessel’s value is currently estimated at around $17.5 million by online pricing platform VesselsValue.

Indian customs officials seized the cocaine, with a street value of $26, from the ship in December last year. The ship arrived in ballast from the Indonesian port of Gresik and was due to set off for Denmark with steel plates.