Songa Offshore has announced that an arbitration tribunal in London has ruled in its favour in an ongoing dispute with South Korean shipbuilder DSME.
DSME first served Songa with notices of arbitration regarding the contracts for the construction of four Category-D rigs at the shipyard in July 2015. The rigs, which were specifically built for and contracted to Statoil, were plagued by delays and escalating costs. DSME claimed that cost overruns and additional work were due to errors and omissions in the design documents. It was claiming $328.8m in costs and damages.
An arbitration tribunal ruled in favour of Songa after a two-day hearing in London.
“Songa Offshore considers that the Tribunal’s interim final award should be determinative of DSME’s claims in respect of the Rigs with an outcome that no payment will be due by Songa Offshore to DSME. It is possible that DSME may seek permission to appeal the tribunal’s award but if it is determinative of the claims and if no appeal is pursued then this will resolve DSME’s claims leaving Songa Offshore to pursue its counterclaim against DSME in respect of the Rigs for the aggregate amount of USD 65.8 million,” the company said in a statement.
Songa Offshore said it has yet to decide on the pursuit of its counterclaims.
