Marco Polo Marine obtains stay of proceedings in legal row with Sembmarine

“The board is pleased to inform shareholders that the court has on 22 April 2016 granted the company’s application for a stay of the entirety of the court proceedings instituted by PPL Shipyard in favour of arbitration. In addition, the court has ordered costs of the application to be paid by PPL Shipyard to the company on an indemnity basis,” Marco Polo Marine stated.

Arbitration proceedings on the dispute commenced on 7 April.

PPL Shipyard, subsidiary of Sembmarine, commenced legal action against Marco Polo Marine on 1 December 2015, demanding payment of a second 10% of the rigbuilding contract price amounting to $21.43m and interest.

Marco Polo Marine’s MP Drilling, which entered into the deal with PPL Shipyard, claimed that it is not obliged to make the payments, and that PPL Shipyard has no basis to commence legal action.

The dispute arose in November last year when Marco Polo Marine unilaterally terminated the high-specification rig order worth $214.3m at PPL Shipyard, citing cracks found on three legs of the rig.