Germany’s KfW IPEX-Bank has arrested ‘World Dream’, the last of Genting Hong Kong’s cruise ship still operating under the Dream Cruises brand.
‘World Dream’ arrived at Singapore’s cruise terminal on 2nd March after her final ‘cruise to nowhere’ and was arrested hours later.
KfW IPEX has filed a mortgage claim against the vessel.
According to a statement from Genting, mounting creditor pressure posed an immediate threat to the continued operation of the ship.
The company claimed that, despite obtaining emergency funding that allowed the ‘World Dream’ to complete 16 scheduled cruises after the liquidation filing in January, liquidity had continued to deteriorate.
She had been operating short cruises out of Singapore since late 2020.
Elsewhere, another member of the Genting Group, Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven, has been sold by the local liquidator to a consortium involving the German Rönner and Zech Groups.
Lloyd Werft has been part of the Genting Hong Kong empire since 2016 but filed for insolvency on 10th January.
Bremen-based Zech Group and the Bremerhaven-based Heinrich Rönner Group combined to acquire the long-established Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven.
After the Zech Group, advised by GÖRG Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB, entered into the process towards the end of February, both companies submitted a joint binding offer at the end of that month, which was accepted and notarised.
According to GÖRG, the speed of the transaction was made possible not least by the fact that the binding offer was immediately backed up by a concrete draft contract that balanced the interests of both parties.
In structuring the offer, GÖRG relied on a share deal subject to the condition that the insolvency petition for Lloyd Werft be withdrawn and the protective measures ordered in the pending insolvency proceedings be lifted.
MV-Holding, as the parent company of Lloyd Werft and Dr Christoph Morgen of insolvency practitioners, Brinkmann and Partner, were involved in the sale.
However, there is still no news of a buyer for another German Genting shipyard – MV Werften or its 70% complete first of two 200,000 gt cruise ship.
As for Crystal Cruises, a new website has been set up – https://crystalcruisesclaims.com – and Mark Healy, Director of Florida-based Michael Mocker & Associates, was appointed by the Courts as assignee to manage the liquidation of Crystal Cruises and its companies.
Crystal Cruises has filed an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors, an insolvency proceeding under a Florida Statute.
Two related companies, Crystal AirCruises and Crystal Holdings were also included in the liquidation process.
“Our goal is to maximise the recovery of assets and provide a claims process to creditors that allows them to realise the highest potential recovery regardless of the size of their claim,” Healy said in a statement.
He urged all those who had booked with the insolvent cruise line to claim.
A major problem for those seeking funds to pay creditors was the fact that the company did not own any assets, including the ships.
