Two Genting Crystal Cruises ships to be auctioned in the Bahamas
Two of Genting’s Crystal Cruise ships that were seized in the Bahamas will be going up for auction next month.
Hong Kong.- Two ships that belonged to Genting Hong Kong’s Crystal Cruises fleet will be auctioned off next month following a decision by the Supreme Court Commercial Division in the Bahamas. Those interested in participating must submit their offer before June 7 and the winning bidder will be notified on June 14.
According to local media, the ships put up for sale are the Crystal Serenity and the Crystal Symphony, hich have been sitting at Freeport in the Bahamas since February. Their value has not been disclosed, although it is estimated that the former could have a commercial value of US$87.4m and the latter US$18.2m.
The specialist media outlet Cruise Hive hinted that one possible interested party in the purchase of both vessels could be the former operator of Silverseas, Manfredi Lefebvre D’Ovidio. At the moment, it is unknown what will happen to the rest of the cruise ships owned by the company.
In February, Crystal Cruises shut down its US office and laid off staff a month after suspending operations. That was the result of Genting Hong Kong filed for liquidation after a German court rejected a request to release US$88m in funds for its German shipyard unit MV Werften.
A week ago, it emerged that Genting Group chairman, Lim Kok Thay, launched a new cruise line from Singapore, which will make its debut on June 15. The new entity – Resorts World Cruises – is rehiring about 1,600 people for the cruise business and has rehired about 70 of 100 former sales and marketing teams.
The company is starting out with the cruise ship Genting Dream, which was formerly part of Genting Hong Kong’s Dream Cruises stable. The company is in talks with banks and other parties to acquire Dream Cruises’ two remaining vessels.
