Jalesh Cruises has become the cruise industry's seventh Covid-19 casualty, shutting down mere weeks after launching a large marketing campaign to restart cruises in November.
The troubled Mumbai-based cruise operator revealed over the weekend that it was unable to continue operating as it was facing mounting debts and legal claims, and could not obtain clarity from Indian authorities on when it would be able to resume cruising.
Jalesh suspended the operation of its 70,300-gt cruiseship Karnika (built 1990) on 12 March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Shortly thereafter the ship was arrested in Mumbai over a $4m claim lodged with the Bombay High Court by bunker supplier Monjasa DMCC. Integr8 Fuels India filed a caveat against the case.
A second arrest was filed by the Mumbai Port Trust for unpaid port dues.
Jalesh president and CEO Jurgen Bailom told TradeWinds in June that the bunker supplier arrest was over a pricing dispute that had become bogged down in the Indian court system due to the countrywide lockdown.
He said he was confident that the matter would be resolved once the courts reopened.
“As a reputed brand, we stand committed towards honouring all legitimate dues and payments and would not like to jeopardise our brand value and reputation for the same. The issue will be sorted very soon,” he explained.
Bailom went on to describe an optimistic post-coronavirus vision for Jalesh that involved a second ship and a possible initial public offering (IPO).
The company later launched an extensive marketing campaign for a domestic cruise program that was set to launch in November.
Potential customers were told that new health protocols made the Karnika the “safest holiday destination in the middle of the ocean” and they could “book with confidence”.
Despite the company’s bullish outlook, it was unable to get the arrests against its ship lifted.
Dire conditions
The Karnika was left sitting in Mumbai port with approximately 60 unpaid crew on board, who, according to Indian media reported this weekend, are living in poor conditions with limited fuel, power and basic supplies.
The Mumbai Mirror reported that the crew were owed back wages in the region of $227,000, and that without power to run the air-conditioning, the ship was like an oven.
Most had taken to sleeping on deck and were living off "dwindling stocks of cornflakes and burgers".
They refused to disembark the ship, fearing that if they did so they would not receive their wages.
India’s director general of shipping, Amitabh Kumar, said the dire situation on board was brought to his notice last Thursday, and he would send officers from the Marine Mercantile Department to conduct an investigation.
Jalesh, via a media statement, blamed various government authorities for failing to provide the ship with fuel and supplies during its time under arrest. It claimed that the ship was under the control of the High Court and there was little it could do to alleviate conditions on board.
The company said it had appealed to the High Court and the Port Trust for assistance to provide fuel, power and basic supplies to the crew, but had yet to receive a response.
“We are hoping to get the crew members signed off and relieve them so that they can go home, as soon as the legal formalities are completed.
“We assure our crew members that they will receive their salaries as soon as the funds are received. Main priority is to reunite the crew with their families.”
A source with knowledge of the situation said the funds would likely come from the sale of the ship.
Coronavirus casualties
Jalesh launched in 2018 when it bought the Karnika as Pacific Jewel from Carnival Corp. The purchase, along with a substantial refit in Singapore, represented a total investment of $123m.
While the company has frequently been linked to Indian business mogul Subhash Chandra’s Essel Group multimedia empire, Bailom was quick to distance any links between the two companies, claiming that Chandra’s son was the seed investor.
Jalesh is the seventh cruise line to permanently shut up shop since the Covid-19 outbreak. Japan’s Lumious Cruise Co was the first to go when it said in March that the outbreak had made it impossible to continue operating .
European cruise operators Pullmantur, Cruises & Maritime Voyages, FTI Cruises, Birka Cruises, and US-based Blount Small Ship Adventures would later follow.
