Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is still weighing its options for two elderly cruiseships that will not sail for the company again.
The 28,600-gt sisterships Black Watch (built 1972) and Boudicca (built 1973) have been laid up at the Babcock yard in Scotland during the coronavirus pandemic, along with two younger ships, the 43,500-gt Balmoral (built 1988) and the 23,300-gt Braemar (built 1998).
But in July, the company bought the 1,380-berth Amsterdam (built 2000) and 1,404-berth Rotterdam (built 1997) from Carnival's Holland America Line for a combined $37m. They have have been renamed Bolette and Borealis.
Earlier this month TradeWinds cited industry insiders as saying Black Watch and Boudicca would be sold.
Maritime Executive reported Black Watch and Boudicca are being stripped to help refit the incomers, and are expected to be sold for scrap soon.
Farewell planned
The Ipswich-based cruise line had previously said it was planning a farewell send-off for the two ships in the very near future.
A Fred Olsen Cruises spokeswoman told TradeWinds on Wednesday the vessels would be retired.
She added: "We are still exploring our options for the future of these two vessels, but we can confirm that they will not resume sailing with us when we do start to cruise again.
"Our new ships, Bolette and Borealis, will take over the existing itineraries for those ships."
Holland America has also sold the 1,350-berth Veendam (built 1996) and 1,258-berth Maasdam (built 1993) to Greece's Seajets.
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has said it will base its decision to start sailing again on guidelines from authorities such as the UK government and Public Health England.
In July, the company revealed it was moving its four idle cruiseships into layup to reduce costs while working on a resumption of operations.
The company first anchored them in Scotland's Firth of Forth in March amid Covid-19 lockdowns but moved them in late May to Babcock’s naval dockyard in Rosyth.
