Three companies are seeking more than $6.5m from a group of heavylift companies after its vessel got loose on the Sabine River in May.

In two lawsuits, the trio accuse Versabar, Versamarine and Versabuild of negligence after the VB-10,000 broke away from its moorings during a storm that battered east Texas.

In a suit filed last Friday, Houston-based Offshore Equipment said the VB-10,000 crashed into its mobile offshore drilling unit, the Cecil Provine, causing $5.5m