Philly Shipyard is taking one of its suppliers to court over issues with equipment fabricated for an ill-fated project to build a boxship for Matson.
The Oslo-listed shipbuilder seeks to recoup $1.2m from Thordon Bearings over the 2017 installation of bronze liners onto a propeller shaft for what would become the 3,600-teu Kaimana Hila (built 2019).
The lawsuit, filed in the US federal court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on 14 July, accused Thordon of breaching its contract after the Canadian firm failed to adequately supervise subcontractor Precision Roll Grinders (PRG), a non-party to the lawsuit.
Philly Shipyard alleges PRG, which did the work at its Kentucky plant, distorted the part and could not fix it.
It said the shaft had to be sent to Marineshaft in Denmark for repairs, creating a delay of about 23 days.
The Pennsylvania yard said it had to cut open the under-construction ship's completed hull to install the part.
The vessel was one of two under construction at Philly Shipyard for Hawaiian containership owner Matson. They had a collective price tag of $418m.
The Kaimana Hila and the 3,600-teu Daniel K Inouye (built 2018) were the last two commercial ships Philly Shipyard built and were described as money-losing ventures.
The lack of commercial shipbuilding activities pushed Philly Shipyard to explore government contract work in 2019.
Since then, it has secured a $1.2bn contract to build four training vessels for US state maritime academies, as well as repair and design work.
Thordon did not return a request for comment.
