Chinese cruise newcomer Sanya International has emerged as the buyer of a Carnival Corp ship sold in September and has appointed V.Ships as its manager.
Sanya International Cruise Development Co — a joint venture between Cosco Shipping, China National Travel Service (HK) Group and China Communications Construction Co — took over the 77,500-gt Sea Princess (built 1998) in Manila last week via a remote process organised by V.Ships.
The ship, previously operated by Carnival subsidiary Princess Cruises, will be renamed Charming.
The acquisition is an indication that players in the Asian cruise markets expect a more rapid recovery, as the region has been more successful than most other parts of the world in bringing the Covid-19 pandemic under control.
V.Ships said on Friday that in preparation for the launch of operations in 2021, V.Ships Leisure and sister hospitality company Oceanic Catering would be working closely with Sanya International “to develop all aspects of the operation including the on-board hospitality concept and guest experience journey”.
Per Bjornsen, chief executive of V.Ships Leisure, commented: “Being selected once again to manage the start-up of a cruise line in China highlights our unique capability to manage vessels locally with our highly experienced cruise dedicated team in China. Our integrated ship and hotel management partnership model is proving ever more popular as it enables delivery of a unified ship and shoreside approach to safety culture and Covid-19 secure operations.”
Sanya International announced its intention to enter the cruise game at the peak of growth in the Chinese cruise market in 2016. It said it would acquire between five and eight ships and provide a domestic alternative to the many foreign cruise companies that were then rushing into China.
Asian cruise industry observers said the company’s plans were slowed down over concerns of excess capacity in the market, as well as an inability to acquire suitable secondhand tonnage, as most cruise majors were unwilling to part with their newer, larger ships.
The acquisition is Cosco’s second involvement in a Chinese cruise venture. In 2018, the shipping giant teamed up with China National Travel Service Group Corp to form Astro Ocean International, which purchased the 69,800-gt Oriana (built 1995) from Carnival’s UK-based subsidiary P&O Cruises.
The ship re-entered service under the name Piano Land in late 2019, with V.Ships also playing a major role in the launch of the operation by undertaking all hotel and technical management operations for the ship.
In what appears be purely a financial arrangement, the Piano Land was sold in July this year to Cosco Shipping Financial Co, a leasing arm of the giant Chinese shipping giant. The ship continues under the control of Astro Ocean.
The Chinese government has yet to give the go-ahead for the resumption of cruises from its ports, but industry sources there expect permission will be granted soon for domestic voyages on Chinese-owned ships.
Asian cruise comeback
The Asian cruise sector was an early casualty of the coronavirus outbreak.
Stringent, extensive and strictly enforced protocols put into place by national governments quickly brought the pandemic under control, and by July the Taiwanese government felt confident enough to allow Genting Hong Kong’s Dream Cruises brand to begin operating domestic cruises.
Japan and Singapore followed suit in November.
Japanese cruise operators NYK Line and Mitsui OSK Passenger Line resumed domestic cruise operations at the beginning of the month.
Dream Cruises began operating out of Singapore at the same time, although the city-state, seeking to maintain its safe bubble, requires ships to spend the entire voyage on the high seas.
Royal Caribbean will begin cruise operations out of Singapore in December.
Unlike in Europe and the Caribbean, where a limited number of companies have resumed operations, there have been no reports of any Covid-19 outbreaks on cruiseships that have begun operating in Asia.
With the pandemic still raging out of control in many parts of North America and Europe, industry observers believe that cash-strapped international cruise majors are looking at the possibility of deploying more tonnage into Asia.
Costa Cruises will start operating one ship in the Taiwanese market from December, while TradeWinds understands that Princess will be moving across to Taiwan two ships that were previously scheduled to operate in Alaskan waters during 2021.
