April 1 - The final chapter in the long-running dispute between Fairmount Marine and Fairstar Heavy Transport would appear to have been written following yesterday's ruling by The Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI) rejecting Fairstar's 2008 claim tha

Until the beginning of 2007 Fairmount Marine was responsible for the supervision of the conversion process at Malta Shipyards. Fairstar regarded Fairmount Marine to be responsible for the budget overrun and delays and sued for EUR53 million (USD74.7 million) in damages.

Fairmount Marine said that the performance of the yard and the way Fairstar interfered with the process cost the budget overrun and delays.

In December 2007, Fairstar cancelled the contract between the companies and Fairmount Marine filed a counterclaim for unlawful termination. The NAI ruling also requires Fairstar to reimburse Fairmount Marine for the total costs of arbitration, which HLPFI understands to be around EUR200,000.

Fairmount Marine chief executive Albert de Heer said in a statement: "From the beginning we have had no doubts about a positive judgment for Fairmount Marine in this case. I'm very happy all things have come to a satisfactory and fair conclusion.''

Fairstar chief executive Philip Adkins said he was disappointed with the ruling, but "not surprised given the mysteries of the arbitration process in the Netherlands."

He added that Fairmount Marine's failure to deliver the vessels on time demonstrated: "a unique combination of greed, incompetence and corruption and whilst we lost the ruling, it draws a line and brings an end to what has been a deeply disappointing experience for Fairstar. Fortunately, we have so much to look forward to in the future," he told HLPFI.

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