Great Yarmouth stranded ship: New crew joins Malaviya Twenty

The Malaviya Twenty has been stranded in Great Yarmouth since June 2016

A new crew is to take over an Indian-registered ship which has been stranded in a port for more than two years.

The Malaviya Twenty has been impounded in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, since June 2016 amid a long-running legal wrangle.

The stricken vessel has been bought at auction by a Greek shipping firm which paid an undisclosed sum that is hoped will cover crew wages and port dues.

The four sailors still aboard said they were relieved to be free to return home to India.

The Malaviya Twenty was originally detained after the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) found the crew and port had not been paid.

The MCA placed a prohibition notice on the ship after finding defects, leaving it unable to be moved from port.

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Captain Nikesh Rastogi was part of a 13-strong replacement crew contracted in February 2017 and most of his team have now returned to India.

The vessel - worth between £700,000 and £800,000 - was forcibly sold at auction by the Admiralty Marshal earlier this month.

Captain Nikesh Rastogi (left) and his crew mates are free to return home to India

Four new crewmen from the ship's unnamed Greek owners have arrived - with a further 12 expected on Thursday.

The owners are clients of Athens-based agency Laskaridis Shipping Company, who said: "We assume outstanding wages shall be covered from auction proceeds.

"It has not been decided yet where the ship will be taken."

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Rita Petropanayiotaki, the agency's insurance and claims manager, declined to name the owners.

Captain Rastogi previously said a priority would be necessary repairs to allow the ship to move to Greek waters.

The Malaviya Twenty's sister ship, Malaviya Seven, was sold last year after being stranded with a crew for more than a year in Scotland.