By Lee Hyo-sik
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) said Wednesday that it is suing a Norwegian company for refusing to compensate the shipbuilder for losses incurred from delayed construction of offshore oil-drilling ships due to faulty designs.
The struggling shipbuilder has filed a complaint against Songa Offshore, a Norwegian drilling contractor, with the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA).
“We incurred nearly a 1 trillion won ($855 million) loss from the delayed construction of four oil-drilling ships ordered by Songa, due to the Norwegian firm’s faulty design,” a DSME spokesman said. “However, it has not acknowledged its mistakes and refused to pay compensation. So we had to ask the LMAA to decide on the matter.”
Between 2011 and 2012, the shipbuilder won orders from Songa for four drilling ships at 2.4 trillion won. But it took 12 months longer than DSME had planned, incurring huge unexpected losses.
The shipbuilder said Songa is responsible for the delay because its flawed design made the ships more expensive.
But the Norwegian company has rejected the compensation bid, insisting DSME is to blame.
The shipbuilder delivered the first ship in June and plans to hand over the remaining three in the coming months.
“Regardless of the arbitration, we will complete and deliver the remaining three ships to Songa,” the spokesman said.