Crystal Symphony, Crystal Serenity Set for Auction

The Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity – Crystal Cruises’ two ocean liners that were seized by Bahamian authorities in February after parent company Genting Hong Kong failed to pay more than $4 million in fuel bills – are being auctioned off.

Both ships have been in port in the Bahamas for more than three months.

The notice for an auction was officially published by the Supreme Court Commercial Division in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. According to the publication Maritime Executive, bidding on the ships is due to the court by June 7 along with a 10 percent deposit. The winning bidder will be notified by June 14 and must pay the balance and take possession of the ships on an “as is” basis by June 21.

It is not known if a minimum bid price was set, and the Bahamian bank handling the auction can reject the bids if it feels they are too low.

Back in the U.S., Crystal Cruises’ offices in Florida and all its contents are being auctioned off next week.

The auctions would bring finality to an extraordinary set of circumstances in the cruise industry. In January, a struggling Genting Hong Kong announced it would suspend operations through April. But because it owed $4.6 million in unpaid fuel bills, Genting had the ships diverted to the Bahamas for fear that if they docked back in Fort Lauderdale that U.S. authorities would seize the ships. Passengers were ferried back to Florida.

But Genting could not evade authorities for long. Both ships were commandeered by authorities; both vessels had just crew members remaining onboard.