Cargill International has stepped into a bitter ship repossession dispute to tell the Bombay High Court that its messages to the crew of an abandoned tanker were “fraudulently amended”.

The claim emerged in the battle over the 18,041-dwt Aeon (built 2012). The auctioned vessel is to be handed over to new owner Seven Islands Shipping, and the Indian court has ordered all crew on the repossessed and auctioned Saint James Shipping tanker to be removed over the master’s protests, by force if necessary.