Bank Montepio has finally sold the 5,900-gt cruiseship Porto (built 1965). It has gone to a Turkish shipbreaker, with delivery said to be imminent.
Sources close to the bank told TradeWinds it had been trying for several years to find a trading buyer for the 340-passenger ship but there had been no serious buying interest.
Montepio had financed the acquisition and extensive refurbishment of the ship by start-up cruise operator Portuscale in early 2013 after it acquired most of the vessel assets of failed Classic International Cruises (CIC).
Extensive reconditioning
Hoping to replicate CIC’s former success in the European charter cruise market, Portuscale put the ship, previously called Arion, through an extensive reconditioning.
No charters were forthcoming and the ship went straight from the shipyard into what turned out to be a permanent lay-up.
Portuscale went out of business shortly thereafter, with its assets taken over by Montepio.
The bank has had no luck finding buyers for three former Portuscale cruiseships, which are among the oldest afloat.
The 16,200-gt Astoria (built 1948), currently the world’s oldest active cruiseship, has spent several years on charter to UK-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV).
Uncertain future
CMV has the ship until the end of 2019, after which further employment is uncertain as the company adds larger vessels to its fleet.
Even less certain is the future of the 9,600-gt Funchal (built 1961), which saw very brief service for Portuscale following an extensive life-extension and Safety of Life at Sea refit in 2013.
Well-informed cruiseship brokers told TradeWinds that Montepio has been willing to sell the Funchal on a make-an-offer basis but there has been no interest from established cruise operators, for whom it is considered to be too old and too small.
