The opinion of the court was delivered by: RICARDO URBINA, District Judge
DENYING THE PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER
This matter comes before the court on the motion of Guam
Industrial Services ("GIS") for a temporary restraining order
("TRO"). GIS owns and operates Guam Shipyard, which repairs and
otherwise services maritime vessels. Compl. ¶ 2. The Guam
Shipyard is the only U.S.citizen owned and controlled commercial
shipyard west of the International Dateline. Id. GIS claims
that the United States Navy's ("Navy") bid proposal and contract
award practices with shipyards not located in the United States
or Guam violate 10 U.S.C. § 7310. GIS seeks to enjoin the
defendants*fn1 from soliciting bid proposals and contracting
for repairs of Navy vessels from shipyards not located in either
the United States or Guam. GIS now seeks a TRO to prevent the
defendants from servicing the Navy vessel SS Petersburg by a
shipyard in Singapore. Because GIS has not demonstrated that the SS Petersburg's
homeport is in the United States, it fails to demonstrate a
substantial likelihood of success on the merits. Because the
harms alleged by the plaintiff concern loss of business, GIS
fails to demonstrate irreparable harm. Because the Navy's
military interest in expeditious Navy vessel repairs is
compelling, the public interest does not favor the plaintiff.
Accordingly, the court denies the plaintiff's motion for a
TRO.*fn2
The plaintiff owns and operates Guam Shipyard, located in the
U.S. Territory of Guam. Pl.'s Mot. at 4. The Guam Shipyard
employs approximately two hundred and fifty people all U.S.
citizens, and is "the only United States-citizen owned and
controlled shipyard that can service United States Navy, Military
Sealift Command ("MSC"), and [Maritime Administration, ("MARAD")]
ships that are under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Navy
and located in the Pacific and Indian Oceans." Id.
A select group of Navy vessels are part of the Navy's
Prepositioning Program, a program funded and administered by the
Navy and controlled by the Navy's Sealift Command. Id. at 4;
Defs.' Opp'n at 2. These ships are positioned by the Navy in
strategic oceanic locations, "making it possible to deploy
equipment, fuel, and supplies to support U.S. military forces on
short notice during times of war or as a result of other
contingencies." Id. at 5.
The Navy also maintains a fleet of maritime vessels in the
United States Ready Reserve Force ("RRF"), which are a select
group of ships within the National Defense Reserve Fleet, are maintained by the DOT's MARAD, and are funded from the
Navy-controlled National Defense Sealift Fund. Id. at 2; Pl.'s
Mot. at 2-3.
The Navy vessel SS Petersburg is designated both within the
Prepositioning Program and the National Defense Reserve Fleet.
Id. at 4-5. While on assignment as a vessel in the RRF, the SS
Petersburg is maintained and controlled by the DOT's MARAD, but
when activated under the Navy's strategic Prepositioning Program,
the vessel is maintained and controlled by the Navy and the
Navy's Military Sealift Command. Def.'s Opp'n at 2.
The SS Petersburg has been located or "prepositioned" in the
U.S. Territory of Guam at the Delta-Echo Pier in Apra Harbor for
the past three years. Id. at 5. Daily control of the SS
Petersburg is delegated to one of three Maritime Prepositioning
Ship squadrons ("MSPRONs"). Id. The vessel's specific mission
while located in Guam is to provide offshore petroleum
distribution services to the Defense Logistic Agency. Id.
On June 21, 2005, the Interocean American Shipping Corporation
("IASC"), a corporation that provides ship management services to
MARAD for the SS Petersburg, Defs.' Opp'n, Attach. 2, Cahill
Decl. ¶ 6, began soliciting bids for drydock work and repairs of
the SS Petersburg, Pl.'s Mot., Attach. 1, Pothen Decl. ¶ 9. In
response to this solicitation, the Guam Shipyard submitted a bid
proposal. Id. On August 16, 2005, IASC accepted a bid from the
Keppel Shipyard in Singapore for the repair work to the SS
Petersburg. Cahill Decl. ¶ 11; Pl.'s Mot. at 1.
Although the SS Petersburg will not enter the drydock portion
of the Singapore shipyard until August 28, 2005, repair work on
the SS Petersburg commenced on August 23, 2005. Cahill Decl. ¶
11. Upon learning that repair work on the SS Petersburg had
begun, the plaintiff, on August 23, 2005, filed its instant motion for a TRO. Because the
plaintiff's alleged harm had already commenced, the court ordered
an expedited briefing schedule. As all submissions have now been
made, the court turns to the merits of the plaintiff's motion.
A. Legal Standard for a Motion for a Temporary ...