Another cruise ship previously owned by Genting Hong Kong looks set to be sold after the Sherriff of the Supreme Court of Singapore announced details of a closed-bid auction to take place for World Dream this month.
First sailing in 2017, World Dream and its sister ship Genting Dream had been operated by Genting Hong Kong subsidiary Dream Cruises, which ceased sailings in March after its parent company entered liquidation. The ship has since been moored at Singapore’s Changi General Purpose Anchorage.
According to details published by the Sherriff late last week, all bidders must provide a deposit of US$50,000 – which will be returned to all unsuccessful bidders – by 21 December. Any successful bid will be subject to court approval, however, and there is no guarantee that any bid will be approved should they fail to meet fair market value. Any successful bidder will also be required to purchase the US$1.2 million worth of bunker fuel already aboard the ship.
Measuring 335 meters in length and weighing 150.7 tonnes, World Dream has capacity for 5,000 passengers and was designed specifically to serve the Asian market.
It remains to be seen whether Genting Hong Kong’s controlling shareholder, Genting Group patriarch Lim Kok Thay, submits a bid of his own after he registered and launched a new cruise ship brand in Singapore called Resorts World Cruises earlier this year.
The looming sale of World Dream comes just weeks after Disney Cruise Line confirmed it has purchased Global Dream – an unfinished 9,000 capacity ship that was being built by Genting Hong Kong at its Germany shipyards prior to its collapse.
As previously reported by Inside Asian Gaming, Genting Hong Kong’s joint provisional liquidators are also expected to confirm the sale of the company’s stake in Travellers International Hotel Group – operator of Manila’s Newport World Resorts – in the coming months.
