The UK High Court has granted applications by creditors to put five Global Maritime Group cruiseships up for auction.
Exclusive UK Admiralty shipbroker CW Kellock told TradeWinds that the vessels will be sold next month pursuant to court orders made on 2 and 4 September.
The five ships, marketed by collapsed UK cruise company Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), have been arrested in Tilbury and Avonmouth.
They are the 20,700-gt Astor (built 1987), 46,100-gt Magellan (built 1985), 22,100-gt Marco Polo (built 1965), 55,900-gt Vasco da Gama (built 1993) and 63,800-gt Columbus (built 1989).
The Vasco da Gama will go under the hammer on 8 October, with the Columbus following on 12 October.
Then comes the Astor on 15 October, the Magellan on 19 October and Marco Polo on 22 October.
Inspections have been invited and all sales will be conducted via separate sealed bids, with clean title and no encumbrances.
Interests 'extinguished'
"Notice is given to any interested party that all rights and interests existing in each ship prior to her sale shall be extinguished," the official sales notice says.
CW Kellock told TradeWinds: "There is encouraging interest in all the vessels, especially in the younger ones."
All the vessels are currently being managed and crewed by V.Ships.
TradeWinds reported last month that up to six CMV-linked cruiseships arrested by creditors in the UK could be the subject of judicial auctions.
A sales order for the 16,100-gt Astoria (built 1948) may take more time, as this is not owned by Greece’s Global Maritime, but was chartered from the administrators of Lisbon-headquartered Portuscale Cruises.
Australian lender Macquarie Group arrested three vessels and P&O Princess Cruises seized the Vasco da Gama and Columbus. Global Maritime acquired these two ships from a Carnival Corp subsidiary on a bareboat hire-purchase basis, TradeWinds understands.
Danish bunker supplier Monjasa arrested the Astoria due to debts incurred while operating for CMV. The 1948-built ship is the oldest cruiseship afloat.
VesselsValue, which started publishing generically estimated cruiseship valuations earlier this year, assesses the fleet as being worth $33m, except for the Astoria.
CMV cancelled all of its cruises and called in the administrators in July, becoming the largest cruise casualty of the pandemic so far.
Industry insiders said the company had been scouring the financial markets in previous months for additional funding to see it through the pandemic.
Representatives of Global Maritime, CMV and CMV administrator Duff & Phelps have declined to comment, while Monjasa said it could not comment on the matter.
KPI Bridge Oil filed claims
In June, TradeWinds reported that five of CMV’s cruiseships within UK waters were facing claims for unpaid bunker bills.
Bunker supplier KPI Bridge Oil filed claims against the Astoria, Magellan, Marco Polo and Columbus on 29 April, and then against the Astor on 4 June as it entered UK waters, according to filings at the High Court.
TradeWinds understands that CMV had not been served with the claims at that point.
Reputation damaged
In the same month, the company’s reputation was badly damaged when Indian crew members, trapped on its ships docked in UK ports due to global travel bans, launched social-media protest campaigns to highlight their plight.
The UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency stepped into the fray and detained five ships.
Global Maritime's principals are believed to be CMV shareholders.
CMV is the fourth major cruise operator to close in the past number of months. Pullmantur Cruises filed for insolvency in late June, while, a month later, single-ship operators Birka Cruises and FTI Cruises said they were shutting down and selling their ships.
Several smaller coastal cruise operators in the US, Europe and Asia have also announced their permanent exit from the industry.
