Cruise ship carrying 700 people and crew has deviated from its port call at Miami in order to escape a warrant for impoundment of the vessel due to unpaid fuel bills.
Instead of returning to Miami to conclude a 14-day Caribbean cruise on Saturday, the Crystal Symphony veered to Bimini, Bahamas where it docked Saturday night.
Elio Pace (a British musician) stated that the Crystal Symphony had 300 passengers, 400 crew and that the staffing ratio reflected the difficulty of the cruise lines in attracting passengers to the outbreak.
Genting Hong Kong was Crystal Cruises’ parent company and filed for winding up, warning it that it would be “imminently unable to repay its debts as soon as they become due.”
Now, the passengers are scrambling to re-book their onward travel after their arrival in south Florida was delayed by at least a day, and the crew are facing the grim prospect of losing their jobs as the cruise line’s parent company faces liquidation.
Pace stated that everyone was trying to change their flight plans. However, he said the crew did their best in keeping guests updated and comfortable throughout the ordeal. They are not panicking, and there isn’t any tantrums.
After deviating from the scheduled Miami call, The Crystal Symphony docks in Bimini Saturday night to dodge an admiralty warrant for unpaid fuel bills totalling $1.2 Million.
DailyMail.com spoke to Elio Pace (a British musician who performs on the Crystal Symphony), about the current 300 passengers, 400 crew and the possibility of 900 people.
The cruise ship was not scheduled to return to Miami, so it diverted to Bimini. There, passengers can board a ferry that will transport them to Fort Lauderdale.
Crystal Symphony left Miami for two-weeks on its cruise. Everything went smoothly up until Wednesday when Crystal Cruises abruptly declared that operations would be suspended at least through April.
The Genting Group is controlled by Lim Kok Thay, a Malaysian businessman
“This was an extremely difficult decision, but it was a prudent one considering the current economic environment and recent developments in our parent company Genting Hong Kong,” Jack Anderson, Crystal’s president stated in a statement regarding the decision to end all cruises.
DailyMail.com was told by Pace that the news had shocked the crew and passengers, but that normal operations were continued and that he delivered his musical performance exactly as planned.
He stated, “That was quite remarkable, to be able to perform to people with them knowing that the cruise line had gone into liquidation.” It was shocking to all when it came to Wednesday’s announcement.
Nearly concurrent with Genting Hong Kong’s filing to unwind, fuel supplier Peninsula Petroleum Far East filed a complaint in Florida seeking an arrest warrant for the Crystal Symphony under US admiralty law.
Genting Hong Kong (parent organization of Crystal Cruises) has filed to dissolve the company. It warned that it would ‘imminently fail to pay its outstanding debts as they become due’.
Peninsula alleged that Genting’s subsidiaries had reneged on a total of $4.6 million in fuel payments, with $1.2 million alone attributed to the Crystal Symphony.
Judge Darrin G. Gayles from the U.S. District Court of Southern Florida approved Friday the warrant. If the Crystal Symphony enters any US port, it will be placed under impoundment
Instead of going to Miami like planned, the ship turned to Bimini. Resorts World Bimini and Crystal Symphony are owned by The Genting Group.
Pace said that the diversion was a surprise to passengers. He boarded on Tuesday, and was expecting to perform guest performances until next month.
Now the passengers wait for a ferry at 8.30 on Saturday to bring them on a two hour trip to Fort Lauderdale.
Pace stated, “For me, it’s a headache. But for the crew and for the staff, which is the brilliant staff on this beautiful luxury liner. I feel more sorry,” They’ve been laid off, and I’m not feeling well.
Pace blamed the Genting Group for the mess, which is part a larger conglomerate that includes Genting Malaysia Singapore and Genting Singapore.
Lim Kok Thay is the Malaysian tycoon who runs the company. The COVID-19 epidemic has severely affected it.
Pace asked Pace why they couldn’t pay the debt or face Miami’s consequences to prevent them from causing a huge inconvenience for their guests.
He stated that they could afford to take care of these people. He said, “On a human basis, why are people so cruel? Why can’t we help?”
He added, “I cannot understand why these multibillionaires don’t want to care.
Genting Group is the owner of the Resorts World leisure resort chain and 30 casino across the U.K.
The company’s finances were tipped into ruin after the German government this week rejected its request to draw a $88 million backstop facility related to the MV Werften shipyard in northeastern Germany.
German officials blamed Genting for refusing to contribute 10 percent to a $678 million bailout plan that would protect 1,900 jobs at the shipyard.
The shipyard filed for bankruptcy, and the events triggered the insolvency application Monday of another shipyard it owns in Germany, Lloyd-Werft in Bremerhaven.
Genting reported a $238 million net loss for the period ending June 2021, as compared to a $742.6 loss million for the same period in 2020.
Genting Hong Kong is reported to have stopped payments for debts exceeding $3.4 billion by 2020.
Genting stated in its Wednesday filing that the Group and Company have no liquidity available under Group’s debt documents. According to Company cashflow forecasts the Company’s cash balances will run out around the end of January 2022.