Genting cruise ships seized in Bahamas

(File pic: The cruise liner Crystal Symphony leaves the harbor in Charleston, S.C. on May, 21, 2013.) Scheduled to arrive in Miami on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, the ship, with hundreds of passengers aboard, was diverted to the Bahamas after a U.S. judge granted an order to seize the vessel as part of a lawsuit over unpaid fuel. - AP

HONG KONG: Two Crystal Cruises ships operating under a Genting Hong Kong Ltd unit have been seized in the Bahamas after a fuel supplier sought their arrest for US$4.6mil (RM19.25mil) in unpaid bills, according to a crew video and the Cruise Law News website.

The Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity were arrested late Friday night in Freeport in the Bahamas, according to Cruise Law News, a site run by Jim Walker, a maritime lawyer based in Florida who cited crew members on both ships for the information.

The luxury cruise ships were anchored in Freeport Feb 5, Bloomberg data showed.

A Florida judge issued an arrest warrant for the Crystal Symphony last month after fuel supplier Peninsula Petroleum Far East Pte filed a lawsuit against Crystal Cruises and sought the vessel’s arrest for US$4.6mil (RM19.25mil) in unpaid fuel bills dating back to 2017, according to J. Stephen Simms, the lead attorney representing the supplier, and court records.

Simms said a United States marshal was ready to seize the ship if it docked in the US. The suit also detailed unpaid bills for fuel delivered to the Crystal Serenity.

Voyages for both Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity ended last month and there are currently no guests onboard, Crystal Cruises said in statement to Bloomberg News.

Crew members have been paid all wages and the company is meeting its contractual obligations to crew, it added.

The Bahamian port authority, Simms and the US Department of Justice that oversees marshals couldn’t immediately be reached for comment outside of regular operating hours. Genting Hong Kong referred questions about Crystal Cruises to the US operations.

Genting Hong Kong became the biggest cruise operator worldwide to seek court assistance to safeguard its assets during the pandemic when it filed with the Supreme Court of Bermuda Jan 18 to appoint provisional liquidators after exhausting “all reasonable efforts” to negotiate with creditors and stakeholders. — Bloomberg