A federal judge this week ruled against an attempt by the city of Portland’s economic development arm to recover $163,000 from the owner of the Nova Star ferry.

U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby also substantially cut the amount being sought by another creditor, Pratt Abbott dry cleaners, which had asked for nearly $200,000 for linens and services that had not been paid for by the ferry service, which operated between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, in 2014 and 2015.

Most of the claims against the ship‘s operator were settled last fall, after Nova Star Cruises announced it was ending the service because of poor ticket sales, despite more than $40 million in subsidies from the Nova Scotia government. The ship was seized by federal court order until the claims were settled.

Among those owed money and paid last year by the owner were the Portland Pilots Inc. and fuel companies. They were paid so the ship could be released from Portland Harbor, but the claims by the city and dry cleaning company went to court after owner ST Marine – which had reclaimed the ship it had built after the cruise operator went out of business – posted a bond that would have covered the amount owed to the two entities had they won their cases.

At last report, the Nova Star was operating in the Strait of Gibraltar, ferrying passengers and cargo between North Africa and Spain. A high-speed catamaran has replaced the Nova Star on the route between Maine and Canada.

Hornby said the Portland Development Co. was not entitled to the money it sought because it was spent on dockside facilities for the ferry at the Ocean Gateway terminal and not physically turned over to the ship’s owner, as required under maritime law. The facilities included a trailer for the U.S. Border Patrol to use for screening passengers, electric and sewer equipment, fencing, fiberoptic cables for wireless communications and bulletproof glass for customs booths.

Hornby also said Portland Development waived its claim to a lien on the ship because the facilities were provided via an unsecured loan to the ferry’s operator.

In the Pratt Abbott case, the dry cleaning company, operating under the names Maine Uniform Rental and Pratt Abbott Uniform & Linen, was seeking money it had paid for sheets, towels and table linens that the company bought to supply the Nova Star. The company said many of those linens were bought specifically for the ship and are in little demand elsewhere, such as twin-size bedsheets for the ship’s beds, while most linens for hotels and other customers are full-, queen- or king-sized.

The company said the linens are sitting in a warehouse in Westbrook and have a replacement cost of nearly $180,000,

But Hornby ruled that because the linens were not turned over to the ship’s operators, they, too, don’t meet the legal definition of having been delivered to the Nova Star. However, the judge did say Pratt Abbott was entitled to $12,558.21 for services for the ship that had not been paid along with more than $3,600 for linen items the cruise company had asked to be left on the ship.

The total amount that ST Marine was ordered to pay was $16,187.50.