Peninsula Petroleum Far East plans to seize the ship and sell it to recoup the fuel debt

Bloomberg is reporting that the Crystal Symphony, a luxury cruise ship operated by financially-strapped Genting Hong Kong  will be seized to repay US$1.2 million in unpaid fuel bills if it docks in Miami today (January 22).

Lead attorney representing Peninsula Petroleum Far East Pte Limited, J. Stephen Simms says his client plans to seize the ship and sell it to recoup the fuel debt. However, news has come that the vessel is being diverted to The Bahamas after a US court issued an arrest warrant.

Simms explains that a US marshall and a court-appointed custodian are ready to arrest the ship if it comes into port as scheduled this morning in the Florida port city. Peninsula Petroleum Far East filed a lawsuit in the US district court seeking to recoup US$4.6 million in total unpaid fees for bunker fuel it has delivered to three of Genting’s ships since 2017.

Warrant issued on Thursday

A US federal district judge in Miami issued the arrest warrant for the Crystal Symphony Thursday, according to Simms and trade publication TradeWinds.

According to Simms, “the US marshall will be there with the arrest warrant if the ship shows up in Miami… . My good money is that it’s not landing in Miami, from what we’ve been told. Our client is determined to recover.”

Genting Hong Kong became the biggest cruise operator worldwide to seek court assistance to safeguard its assets during the pandemic when it said on Wednesday that it filed with the Supreme Court of Bermuda to appoint provisional liquidators after exhausting “all reasonable efforts” to negotiate with creditors and stakeholders.

The company reported a record loss of US$1.7 billion in May as the pandemic ravaged the cruising industry. Its German shipbuilding subsidiary, MV Werften, went into insolvency last week.

Bloomberg reports that a representative for Crystal Cruises could not be immediately reached for comment. According to the lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida court, Peninsula Petroleum said it delivered bunker fuel to another of the company’s vessels, the Crystal Serenity, as recently as January 17 in Miami.

Simms says he was told by Miami port authorities yesterday that the Crystal Symphony no longer plans to dock in Miami early this morning as scheduled. Port authorities have reportedly confirmed the information with the pilots of the liner.

The vessel is now scheduled to dock in Bimini in the Bahamas, where a US arrest warrant can’t be executed, said Simms. Passengers on the ship also confirmed the itinerary change.