Goa’s Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) appears to have lost patience with the Bombay High Court’s attempts to sell the hulk of a cruiseship after three failed auctions.
What has probably deterred potential buyers is the requirement that they raise the partly submerged, 35,100-gt Qing (built 1982) at their own expense before towing it away.
Scrapping sources told TradeWinds that the potential high costs of a salvage operation would negate any chance of recyclers turning a profit on scrapping the ship.
With the high court unable to find a buyer for the vessel, MPT has petitioned the court to declare it an abandoned wreck.
Indian media quoted MPT chairman I Jeyakumar as saying the port wanted to handle the salvage and disposal, using the proceeds of an eventual sale to cover the costs. “We will dispose of the vessel, and from the sales we will deduct port dues and give further proceedings to the court, and the court can further decide how they want to tackle further issues,” he told local journalists.
Jeyakumar added that the ship was sitting upright in sheltered waters and the remaining oil onboard was safe.
The Qing was built as Atlantic for Home Lines and later traded as Premier Cruise Line’s StarShip Atlantic before spending many years operating for MSC Cruises as Melody.
After a long, successful cruising career, it was sold in November 2013 to Lucknow’s Sahara India Pariwar (SIP). The ship was taken to Western India Shipyard for a refit to get it ready for SIP’s grand plan to use it as a luxury floating hotel off Goa.
Nothing came of that idea and the 1,064-berth Qing was left sitting idle at a dock until it sank in June 2016, because of what was described as an accumulation of rainwater due to heavy monsoon rains. At one point, it was in danger of capsizing, but intervention from the Indian Coast Guard and other authorities saw it righted, although still sitting on the seabed.
The shipyard subsequently petitioned the Bombay High Court to sell it via auction.
