BELFAST, Maine  — Nordic Aquafarms won a court battle over ownership of a disputed mudflat that’s critical to the company’s $500 million aquaculture project.

The ruling was a defeat for two plaintiffs who sued Nordic Aquafarms over access to the property, the Bangor Daily News reported.

The aquaculture operation would be built on land, but ownership of the mudflat is key because it’s where the Norwegian-owned company wants to bury its pipes to funnel water to and from Penobscot Bay.

“We won all the arguments,” Marianne Naess of Nordic Aquafarms said Friday. “We see it as a complete victory.”

The judge heard arguments in the case back in June, including testimony by surveyors and a low-tide field trip to the mudflat. The decision was issued on Wednesday.

Construction won’t start right away. There there could be appeals and engineering work must take place.