Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, the luxury sister-ships of the collapsed Crystal Cruises, have been put up for auction in the Bahamas. The sale of the vessels is the latest step in the liquidation of the former Genting Hong Kong cruise brand.
According to a notice of sale for the 900-guest ships published by the Supreme Court Commercial Division in the Bahamas, inspections of the fleet will be available up to the final bidding date of 7 June 2022. Bidders will be required to provide a 10% deposit with their proposed sale price, with the successful bidder to be notified by 14 June.
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Following the collapse of Crystal Cruises and the positioning of the ships in Freeport, Bahamas, management and marine services provider V. Ships has been acting in a caretaker role for Crystal Serenity and Symphony after their arrest (due to failure to pay a US$4 million fuel bill) on behalf of the banks holding mortgages on the vessels and creditors, The Maritime Executive reported.
“Several potential bidders reportedly remain interested in the cruise company or possibly just the ships,” Maritime Executive said. “The only one to publicly step forward to express interest is Manfredi Lefebvre D’Ovidio, the Chairman of an investment company Heritage Group.”
Lefebvre led the development of Silversea Cruises in the 1990s, before selling the luxury cruise line to Royal Caribbean Group two years ago. He remains active in the travel industry having acquired luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) in 2019 under a strategic investment with Geoffrey Kent, Founder, Chairman and CEO of the luxury travel company. A&K operates a number of luxury cruise charters around the world annually, most commonly from French expedition cruise line, PONANT.
The wind-down of Crystal Cruises’ business will include the sell-off of offices, warehouses and supplies later this week – also at auction – which includes pallets of playing cards with the Crystal branding.