A US judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Mississippi shipyard VT Halter against Singapore offshore vessel owners Ezra Holdings and EMAS Chiyoda Subsea.

District Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden threw out the case, which sought $3.3m over a repair of a heavy-lift deck barge, because he said he does not have jurisdiction over the dispute.

The judge wrote in a four-page decision that VT Halter and EMAS both have corporate registrations in Delaware, so the lawsuit does not qualify for the "diversity jurisdiction" of the federal court in Gulfport, Mississippi.