Posted on December 2, 2024
The shipowner Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD) has filed a lawsuit against Philly Shipyard due to multiple delays in the construction of a rock installation vessel, according to iMarine. GLDD is requesting the court to issue a restraining order and preliminary injunction, claiming that the repeated postponements of the vessel’s delivery date have caused significant losses to the company.
GLDD ordered a $197 million rock installation vessel from Philly Shipyard, which is the first of its kind in the United States. The contract also includes an option for a second vessel. The rock installation vessel measures 140.5 meters in length and 34.1 meters in width, can accommodate 45 crew members, and is capable of carrying up to 20,000 tons of rocks, transporting and depositing them on the sea floor to form the main support structure—monopiles for offshore wind turbines. Court documents reveal that GLDD emphasized the importance of timing when selecting the shipyard.
Philly Shipyard initially proposed a construction timeline that GLDD deemed “unacceptable” during the bidding process. Philly Shipyard later revised its schedule, winning the shipbuilding contract in November 2021, with a delivery date of November 15, 2024. In July 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden visited Philly Shipyard to witness the commencement of construction on the rock installation vessel.
The vessel, named “Arcadia,” began assembly in May 2024. GLDD stated that it had previously agreed to the shipyard’s contract amendment request, postponing the delivery date to February 14, 2025. However, Philly Shipyard still failed to fulfill its construction obligations and proposed several new schedules, delaying the delivery of the vessel by as much as 593 days. GLDD said that between August and October 2024, Philly Shipyard changed the delivery time several times, initially proposing October 30, 2025, and recently changed it to September 30, 2026.
GLDD accused the shipyard of prioritizing other projects at the expense of the project, exacerbating the delays. The shipyard was understaffed, laid off employees, and shared resources between the rock installation vessel and other projects. GLDD has requested that the court block the shipyard’s plan to launch the unfinished “Arcadia” and move it to the outfitting pier in order to free up the dock for constructing another defense vessel. GLDD stated that it has explicitly rejected this plan to the shipyard, as the vessel is not ready for launch, and this move would further delay its completion. GLDD asked the court to order the shipyard to stop diverting resources to other projects and require the shipyard to “establish and maintain a fully resourced and logically connected schedule” to comply with the shipbuilding contract.
GLDD wants the shipyard to take actions to recover the project schedule, including placing all material purchase orders within 60 days and airlifting certain materials to help recover construction progress. Philly Shipyard issued a brief statement to the stock exchange acknowledging that GLDD had filed a lawsuit against the shipyard. Philly Shipyard said it was “continuing construction of the vessel” and that it was also building three MARAD training vessels and had begun construction on the first container ship ordered by Matson.
