The High Court of Gujarat has called a public auction for the arrested MR product tanker Nirvana (ex Dancy Dynamic), a vessel tied to the US Treasury’s sanctions list. Sealed bids must reach the court registry in Ahmedabad by 17:00 IST on 10 September 2025; the envelopes will be opened on 17 September.
The court states the sale is “only for demolition purpose” and that the buyer will receive a Bill of Sale “free from all lien, claims, encumbrances, charges and interest of whatsoever nature,” setting up a judicial clean slate that will test how sanctions compliance is handled once title is wiped clean by a court.
Inspections are permitted 1–7 September at Alang, Bhavnagar, where the 1999-built tanker is lying under arrest. Bid security is set at USD 50,000 for foreign bidders and INR 4,000,000 for Indian bidders. Bids may be submitted in USD by foreign bidders or in INR by Indian bidders.
The court has appointed a Commissioner, who is also a Deputy Registrar, to receive, open and report on tenders, with the Judge able to allow inter-se bidding at discretion.
Nirvana is a medium-range oil products tanker built in 1999, with gross tonnage 27,526 and deadweight around 47,431 tonnes; approximate dimensions are 182m LOA and 32.2m beam. The ship traded as Lovely Lady, Ocean Dream and Dancy Dynamic before becoming Nirvana and moving into the so-called dark fleet. In April 2024 the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control identified Dancy Dynamic as property linked to Safe Seas Ship Management FZE and added the vessel to the SDN list in connection with shipments of Iranian commodities.
A judicial sale extinguishes maritime liens and mortgages but does not by itself alter a sanctions listing, which is why trade circles have watched this case as a practical test. The order authorizing the auction was issued 28 July 2025, and the public sale notice carrying the operative terms was published 1 September 2025.