The fate of an old casino cruiseship under arrest in Penang will be decided by Malaysia’s Admiralty Court on 15 July.
The 18,500-gt Oriental Dragon (built 1972) will be put on the auction block unless its Hong Kong-based owners are able to secure funds to pay off claims filed by unpaid crew and trade creditors.
The auction means the Oriental Dragon, which in its heyday as the Sun Viking was one of a trio of cruiseships that launched cruise giant Royal Caribbean, will probably join a growing list of older cruiseships heading for the scrapheap due to Covid-19.
The ship's unpaid multinational crew arrested the Oriental Dragon in February, claiming they had been abandoned on board since the coronavirus ended the ship’s overnight gambling cruises out of Penang in March 2020.
Claims from unpaid trade creditors were also filed against the ship.
The Admiralty Court, which is based in Kuala Lumpur, immediately ordered the repatriation of the 243 seafarers from China, Myanmar and Ukraine.
They had been officially listed as abandoned by the International Labour Organization (ILO) last November.
Textbook repatriation
TradeWinds was told that the Oriental Dragon’s crew’s repatriation was a "textbook case" of what should be done in a crew abandonment case.
Specialist marine insurance intermediary Seacurus, which is managed by Thomas Miller Claims Management, and the Chinese consul general in Penang stepped in to provide the crew members with their essential needs while still on board and facilitate their return home.
Getting them home proved challenging due to border closures and severely curtailed air services across Asia. The crew members from Myanmar faced additional difficulties due to their country’s political situation.
Only 20 seafarers required for safe manning remain on board the ship, which is anchored off Penang.
Court battle
Worldport Corp, the Oriental Dragon’s Hong Kong-based owner, has contested the abandonment claims and according to legal sources familiar with the case, has been fighting off attempts to have the ship auctioned by claiming it is in the securing additional investors, which will allow it to pay off all the claims against the ship.
The Oriental Dragon had been chartered to a Malaysian company that was responsible for covering all operating expenses, but that went out of business after the cruise shutdown leaving Worldport responsible for settling all debts if it wants to regain control of the ship.
The shipowner could not be reached for comment. The single-ship owner's listed contact details were that of technical manager Hopewin Ship Management, whose phone lines were not active.
Hopewin previously managed the two cruiseships owned by failed Hong-Kong-based casino cruise operator Metropolis Cruise, and has been the technical manger since 2014 including for several years during its charter to Metropolis immediately prior to its move to Malaysia.
Brokers who work the cruise sector said that if the Oriental Dragon is auctioned, it is “highly likely” it will be sold for recycling as few, if any trading buyers are interested in acquiring a 49-year old cruiseship.
The pandemic has seen almost all the last remaining casino ships in Asia scrapped, with only New Century Cruise Line of Singapore with one.
