Macau-based Veltinis International, which supplies funds to the securities market, has entered the Asian cruise business by acquiring an elderly cruiseship that has spent the past year laid up off Hong Kong.
The first vessel in the Veltinis fleet is the 15,800-gt Starry Metropolis (built 1976), which last traded for Hong Kong casino cruise operator Metropolis Cruise before a downturn in the Asian casino cruise trade sent it into extended layup.
The ship seems destined for continued service in the Asian casino cruise trade, according to postings on Veltinis’ Facebook page.
Although shipping registers have yet to record any change of ownership and operator, the Starry Metropolis has undergone a dry docking and refurbishment at a Hong Kong shipyard, and its return to service is imminent.
Metropolis Cruise, once the largest player in the Hong Kong casino cruise business with three ships, now only has the 18,500-gt Oriental Dragon (built 1972) in active service. Its 17,300-gt Metropolis (built 1972) cashed in its chips a couple of years ago and remains in layup in Hong Kong awaiting disposal.
