( 1 ) WHILE considering the application for stay, on consent of the parties, the appeal itself was taken up for hearing since the issue raised in the appeal involved a point of law which was capable of being decided on the materials already on record.

( 2 ) THE appellant in the instant appeal is the State of Ukraine and claims to be the owner of a vessel by the name of "m. V. Toyvo Antikaynen" registered at odessa in the State of Ukraine. According to the case as made out, the said vessel is registered in the name of the Black Sea Shipping Company which was at all material times the operating agent of the vessel and is an instrumentality of the State of Ukraine. The said vessel arrived at the Port of Calcutta on 5th may, 1997, for discharging cargo and was berthed at Khidirpur Docks in calcutta. At the relevant point of time the appellant had entered into a time charter with one Asia Express Shipping Agency and the said charter was subsisting when the vessel was berthed at Calcutta. The Diamond Shipping company is the agent of the Asia Express Shipping Agency. While the ship was berthed in Calcutta Dock some time in the middle of 1997, three business organ