Subcontractor cannot assert lien against vessel, as the vessel did not control the selection or the performance of the subcontractor, and under the statute, a lien only arises against a counterparty to a contract for necessities, or a subcontractor whose selection or performance was controlled by the vessel.
Dissent: There was implicit approval of the selection of the subcontractor. Disputed question of whether this creates a circuit split.
http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/16/16-30194-CV0.pdf
Since 2011. An occasional commonplacing of the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal.
Neither an authoritative statement of the law nor legal advice. Quick work.