Outstanding Invoices For A Naval Architect

A naval architect was instructed by a client to design a new rescue ship to be used off the coast of England. The naval architect designed the ship and it was built by a yard specified by the client. After the client took delivery of the ship, he began to notice cracks appearing in the hull. The yard repaired the cracks but they continued to appear. Meanwhile, the client withheld payment from both the architect and the yard until the problem was finally corrected to his satisfaction. ITIC advised the naval architect’s client that the invoice was still payable, despite the current dispute. However, the client refused to pay. After long discussions with the client, ITIC instructed an expert naval architect to survey the vessel. The expert advised that the yard had not used the materials specified in the original designs. The hull had been created from a cheaper material which was far more prone to cracking than the material specified by the architect. With this evidence, ITIC demanded that the outstanding invoices be paid, as the matter was clearly a build issue and not a design one, and if the invoice was not paid, proceedings would be issued. The client then paid the outstanding fees.