Royal Caribbean Group has sold Empress of the Seas to an undisclosed buyer, according to sources familiar with the matter.
They would not identify the ship's buyer or for how much it was being sold. The vessel's market value and scrapping value both stand at $6.38m, VesselsValue data shows.
The Richard Fain-led owner of 58 ships two weeks ago dispelled rumours that the 2,020-berth, 1990-built vessel would not get scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey, as it headed to Malta.
Royal Caribbean suggested almost three weeks ago that Empress was actually sailing around the globe looking for the best services for its operational needs.
But the New York-listed company had sent three other older ships to Malta before sending them off to scrapyards in Aliaga. Empress stopped in Malta for several days before moving to an anchorage off the Greek island of Crete, where it currently remains.
The scrapped vessels — 2,850-berth Sovereign (built 1987), 1,828-berth Horizon (built 1990) and 2,744-berth Monarch (built 1991) — were owned by Royal Caribbean's Pullmantur Cruises, which went into reorganisation.
Royal Caribbean said Empress of the Seas has not been sold.
Making money however it can
Royal Caribbean, which posted a $1.64bn loss for this year's second quarter, has said that it is "evaluating " possible ship sales amid the pandemic.
The company last week took out a $700m term loan facility from Morgan Stanley as a "liquidity cushion" while it navigates the Covid-19 downturn.
Royal Caribbean has also pulled Saudi Arabia as a money-making lever.
Its Silversea Cruises has fixed 608-berth Silver Spirit (built 2009) for two months starting 27 August to Red Sea Cruises, an initiative backed by Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund.
The fund plans to use the ship to offer short cruises throughout the kingdom to the Saudi market as part of Saudi Tourism Authority's (STA)"Saudi Summer" programme.
Royal Caribbean's shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange as RCL, slipped 1.3% to $59.51 by early afternoon on Tuesday.
