Belfast shipbuilder Harland and Wolff has won a court battle with a major US company.
The High Court in London has ruled on a £21 million sterling dispute which could have led to the closure of the Belfast shipyard.
Harland and Wolff was fighting an earlier court ruling which it said might have forced it to fold with the loss of 500 jobs. Three court of appeal judges have now ruled in the shipyard's favour.
The legal row centred on work carried out at the shipyard on the second of two drill ships which were being made for Global Marine, a US oil firm.
The oil company refused to accept the ship, claiming it was not completed to its satisfaction.
The yard said the ship was ready for delivery and demanded a final payment of £21 million.
Harland and Wolff made a claim for the full amount.
Fred Olsen, the Norwegian shipping magnate, bitterly accused the US company of trying to sink the yard - an accusation which Global Marine denied.
PA