A Taiwanese merchant ship was Friday arrested on the orders of the Bombay High Court for non-payment of dues to a Kerala-based company for losses suffered by it due to the crew's negligence.

The ship, M.V. Ever Gentle, owned by the Evergreen Marine Corporation Taiwan, was arrested according to the court order passed Thursday on the basis of a case filed by Kochi-based Baby Marine International.

According to company officials, seven containers of frozen marine products were entrusted to the vessel crew in December 2004 for transportation to Spain.

"En route to Spain, due to the negligence of the carrier's crew, the required temperature was not maintained and the entire cargo was damaged," a company official said.

"Even though we put the claim of $252,211 along with interest with the carrier, it refused to pay for the losses. The Seafood Exporters Association of India and the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry intervened and tried to bring an amicable settlement but to no avail," he noted.

The ship, which had then sailed out of Indian waters, returned last week. Judge S.R. Sathe of the Bombay High Court ordered the sheriff of Mumbai to arrest the vessel, which was docked at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Port here.