Tianjin Orient International Cruise Line, a newcomer to the cruise sector, is planning to put a former Carnival Corp ship into service now that China has lifted its pandemic travel bans.
The Tianjin-based cruise newcomer has acquired the 77,500-gt Charming (built 1998) from Sanya International Cruise Development Co, a joint venture between Cosco Shipping, China National Travel Service (HK) Group and China Communications Construction Co.
Cruise industry sources say that Tianjin Orient took delivery of the ship in January and have renamed it Dream.
No official announcement has been made about the ship’s entry into service, although Asian cruise sources said the technical management of the ship has been assigned to Singapore-based Integrated Maritime Management, a ship manager with cruise ship experience.
While TradeWinds was unable to contact Tianjin Orient for comment on its cruise plans, industry observers believe the company is well placed to gain a foothold in the rapidly reviving Chinese tourism sector as most of the international cruise majors that dominated the country’s cruise sector prior to the pandemic have yet to announce new Chinese deployments, and the ships they previously based there have either been sold or redeployed elsewhere.
Sanya International acquired the Charming as Sea Princess from Carnival subsidiary Princess Cruises in September 2020 for an undisclosed price.
Carnival was at the time selling off unwanted cruise tonnage at fire-sale pricing levels to cut down on lay-up costs.
Sources familiar with Sanya International say its three partners did not anticipate the extended length of time the pandemic would keep China’s borders shut and eventually “grew tired of waiting”.
The Charming, which was laid up in Tianjin during its entire time under Sanya International ownership, was put on the sales market towards the end of 2022.
The fate of Sanya International mirrors that of Century Harmony Cruise, another Chinese start-up that planned to enter the cruise sector using one of Carnival’s bargain buys.
Its ship, the 70,500-gt Century Harmony (built 1994), was acquired as Carnival Fascination in September 2020 and kept in lay-up in China until it was eventually sold for recycling in Pakistan in February 2022.
The sale of the Charming has not completely distanced Cosco from the cruise industry.
The shipping giant also has a 49% stake in Astro Ocean International, a Chinese cruise line that operates the 69,800-gt Piano Land (built 1995), a cruise ship that is owned by Cosco Shipping Financial Co.
Astro Ocean company has yet to announce the resumption of its cruise operations.
