Global cruise ship operator Royal Caribbean Group will acquire a near-new luxury expedition cruise ship built by Genting Hong Kong after winning a bidding war against a handful of rival bidders.
Crystal Endeavor was delivered to Genting HK’s Crystal Cruises in July 2021 at a cost of US$385 million and billed as the world’s most luxurious expedition cruise ship, according to cruise media outlet The Maritime Executive, with room for just 200 passengers at a cost of almost US$2 million per berth. This is almost double the cost of most other comparable cruise ships.
Royal Caribbean, which will sail the ship under its Silversea Cruises brand, acquired the ship for US$275 million and plans to rename it Silver Endeavour.
“The expedition cruising industry is poised to resume accelerated growth, driven by demand among high-end, affluent customers for travel to remote and hard-to-access destinations,” said Silversea Cruises President and CEO, Roberto Martinoli. “Silver Endeavour will strengthen our polar offering, further diversifying our broad-ranging product.”
The sale of Crystal Endeavor comes as Genting Hong Kong provided an update on business operations after being appointed provisional liquidators in January.
In a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing on Tuesday, the company said, “Since their appointment on 20 January 2022, the joint provisional liquidators of the Company have taken steps to ascertain the financial conditions of the Company and the Group.
“Given the severe liquidity constraints of the Group, the primary duty of the joint provisional liquidators is to maximize value and returns of the creditors of the Company, and as a result of recovery actions commenced by a number of the Group’s creditors, the Group’s business operations have been significantly curtailed.
“In particular, the Group is not currently operating any cruises and the JPLs do not envision that the Group will be in a position to resume such operations in the future.”
Genting Hong Kong also confirmed that the joint provisional liquidators have been “cooperating with … creditors and other relevant stakeholders to solicit potential investors who may be interested in acquiring the vessels and other assets of the Group to maximize the recoveries for the Group’s creditors.”
Aside from Crystal Cruises, the company’s business arms include Dream Cruises, Star Cruises and its German shipbuilding business MV Werften Holdings Limited.
Despite Genting Hong Kong’s woes, the company’s majority owner, Genting Group patriarch Lim Kok Thay, has wasted no time in resurrecting his cruise ship ambitions via a new brand, Resorts World Cruises Pte.
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