A casino ship that usually sails twice a day out of Port Canaveral, Fla., is tied up in North Charleston under a federal court order.
A U.S. marshal served a warrant aboard the Victory I at 10:15 a.m. on Oct. 28, arresting the vessel at Detyens Shipyards, Casino.org reported, citing court records.
Detyens Shipyards Inc. sued the ship and its owner, Sophlex Enterprises, which does business as Victory Casino Cruises, in U.S. District Court in Charleston, The Post and Courier reported. The shipyard says it is owed $790,666.
The bill
The job was estimated at $940,666, and Detyens had received $150,000 as of Oct. 15, The Post and Courier reported. The shipyard says it has repeatedly asked for the balance, the newspaper reported.
The charges cover layberthing, storage, ship repairs and other necessaries, according to Casino.org’s account of the complaint.
Detyens began work on the ship in September, The Post and Courier reported. A few days after the suit was filed, a federal judge issued the arrest warrant and appointed a custodian to care for the vessel until the case is resolved, the newspaper reported. The warrant was issued Oct. 19, Casino.org reported.
“Detyens did the work this vessel needed, and it’s entitled to be paid for it,” said James B. Hood of Hood Law Firm, the shipyard’s lawyer, according to The Post and Courier.
Hood said federal maritime law gives shipyards a lien against the vessel, the newspaper reported. Under the U.S. Code, a person who provides necessaries to a vessel on the order of its owner has a maritime lien on the vessel and may bring a civil action against the vessel itself, known as an action in rem, to enforce it. That is why the ship is named as a defendant alongside its owner.
The arrest reaches beyond the hull to the ship’s equipment, including its slot machines and other gaming equipment, according to Casino.org.
The operator’s side
Victory says it disputes part of the bill. “We are disputing some of the charges from the shipyard,” CEO Lester Bullock said, according to Casino.org. Bullock suggested that some of the charges were for services and repairs that were not performed, the site reported.
“We are currently in a contractual dispute with the shipyard and are making every attempt to resolve it as soon as possible,” the company said in an Oct. 29 Facebook statement, as quoted by Cruise Hive. The company has not said how much of the bill it considers valid, WKMG News 6 in Orlando reported.
Victory was served with a summons Oct. 16 and has until Nov. 6 to respond to the complaint, Casino.org reported. As of Nov. 3, the docket showed no formal response from the company, the site reported. No hearings had been scheduled, The Post and Courier reported the same day.
An idle ship and idle workers
The roughly 300-foot Victory I is the company’s only vessel, according to The Post and Courier. It carries up to 1,200 passengers on five-hour sailings, twice a day, and has run for 15 years, the newspaper reported. Casino.org says the ship offers more than 600 slot machines, live-dealer table games, bingo and sports betting in international waters.
The company announced an extended dry dock in late September, Casino.org reported, and furloughed its staff days later. Bullock said more than 300 workers were furloughed, according to the Orlando Business Journal, as cited by The Post and Courier.
No sailings are scheduled, and the company isn’t taking reservations, Casino.org reported.
“We understand that our extended dry dock has caused concern, frustration and uncertainty for our employees, guests and community,” the company said on Facebook, according to The Post and Courier.
Port Canaveral said Victory “has not communicated anything relative to the status of their vessel or its return to service,” WKMG reported Oct. 30.
The shipyard
Detyens is based on the former Navy base along the Cooper River in North Charleston, The Post and Courier reported. It repairs both government and commercial ships. Its website features a testimonial from ferry operator Bay Ferries Ltd., which says it has been coming to Detyens since January 1999.
For now, the Victory I remains at the shipyard. The company says it has no confirmed return date and will post updates about future sailings on its Facebook page, Casino.org reported.
