The dispute between Floating Accommodations, the company behind the vessel Ocean Gala, and the Migration Board has been going on for three years. It was during the large refugee stream 2016 that the Migration Board hired the ship as a refugee residence for more than 1800 asylum seekers. The ship added to Utansjö harbor, north of Härnösand.

Voted the Migration Board

But some refugees never came on board. The Swedish Migration Board considered that the company did not fulfill the conditions set by adding it to an industrial port without the permits required. Floating Accommodations Sweden AB, in turn, sued the Migration Board for breach of contract.

The Migration Board won

At the beginning of December, the verdict in Norrköping District Court fell. The court held that the company could not prove that the Migration Board committed any breach of contract. Floating Accomodation's claim of SEK 190 million by the Migration Board was rejected and instead they were sentenced to pay the court costs of almost SEK 3.5 million.

The dispute continues

The district court's ruling has now been appealed by Floating Accommodations, the long litigation will now be even longer. To begin with, the Court of Appeal must decide on the company's 26-page appeal.

From the first point of the appeal it appears that the company had an idea of ​​what the agreement meant and the Swedish Migration Board another. Although the Swedish Migration Board knew that there were different interpretations, the other party failed to inform this. It is also believed that the district court erred in assessing the rules for agreements concerning vessels.