A crash involving an Offshore Heavy Transport ship did more than $60m in damage to Huntington Ingalls' Mississippi shipyard and an under-construction US Navy warship, a lawsuit filed in federal court last week alleges.
The suit accuses the 64,900-dwt Hawk (built 1989) of losing control as it delivered a floating drydock to the US shipbuilder's Pascagoula, Mississippi facility 29 March, hitting a test barge, then the USS Delbert D Black.
Huntington Ingalls suffered estimated damages of at least $10.1m, plus delays and disruptions worth $21.1m. Damage done to the USS Delbert D Black, an Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer Huntington Ingalls had been building since 2015, is estimated to total $30.9m.
OHT, the Hawk, its registration company and manager Songa Shipmanagement are accused of maintaining an unseaworthy ship without a competent crew with an inadequate number of tugs and mooring lines.
Songa sent TradeWinds a 29 March statement that said they were "working closely with all relevant parties" and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Songa is the management arm of the Arne Blystad-led Blystad Group. Arne Blystad also backs Chinese-owned Offshore Heavy Transport, which maintains offices in Oslo.
The Navy did not respond to requests for comment.
According to court papers, an arrest warrant for the Hawk was issued Monday.
Automatic identification system data shows the ship moored in the water off Pascagoula.
