The owner of Matson Navigation Co. said an unfavorable legal ruling made on Sept. 30 regarding its MV Mokihana ship has been stayed pending the outcome of a similar case against another company.

Matson's parent, Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc., said in a regulatory filing yesterday that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia vacated its September preliminary order in favor of plaintiffs who sued several federal agencies with the intention to block Matson from using the Mokihana in domestic service.

Last year, Matson converted the Mokihana into a combination container vessel and roll-on/roll-off ship that makes transporting vehicles more efficient. Some of the modification work was done in China, which led the Shipbuilders Council of America and rival ocean transportation firm Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines to allege that the work violated provisions of the Jones Act that require ships used in domestic shipping be U.S.-built.

The suit was filed against several federal agencies that govern shipping, including the Coast Guard.

The court in Virginia stayed its order pending the outcome of an appeal to a separate ruling the court made in favor of plaintiffs in a similar case known as the Seabulk Trader case.

A&B said the Seabulk Trader case involves certain issues similar to the Mokihana case, though the two cases also are distinguishable in various respects.

"The company is unable to predict, at this time, the outcome of the appeal in the Seabulk Trader case or the possible effect of such outcome on the Mokihana case," A&B said in the filing. A decision in the Seabulk Trader case is expected from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals next year.