On Tuesday, Genting Hong Kong filed for a provisional liquidation on the company after it reported that it expects to run out of cash by the end of January.
Genting, the parent company of Crystal Cruises, Dream Cruises, and Star Cruises, and owner of the German-shipyards MV Werften and Lloyd Werft, filed for business closure, or a “winding up” of the company, in the Supreme Court of Bermuda. Genting asked the court to approve the appointment of provisional liquidators and propose plans to help with the company’s debt and liabilities.
As a result of the filing, Crystal Cruises announced via email that it would suspend the operations of three of its ships until April 2022. The cruise line said that during the suspension, its management team will assess the situation and come up with plans for the future.
“This was an extremely difficult decision but a prudent one given the current business environment and recent developments with our parent company, Genting Hong Kong,” said, Crystal Cruises’ president Jack Anderson. He also said the company looks forward to welcoming its guests when the ships resume sailing.
Just last week, Genting’s shipyards MV Werften and Lloyd Werft had to file for insolvency. MV Werften was given government loans to continue work at the shipyard after the pandemic, but was unable to continue to receive financing.
Genting Hong Kong’s filing comes after a German court blocked the company’s effort to urge the German state to release funds under an emergency loan for the MV Werften to finance the remaining construction of its new “Global Dream” cruise ship.
