Seize order for Crystal Symphony because of unpaid fuel

Monday, January 24th 2022 - 09:40 UTC

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The Crystal Symphony has called quite often in the Falklands, Montevideo and Buenos Aires

The cruise vessel Crystal Symphony that was supposed to dock in Miami sailed to the Bahamas instead after a U.S. judge granted an order to seize the vessel as part of a lawsuit over unpaid fuel.

Apparently, the Crystal Symphony is currently docked in the Bahamian island of Bimini.

Passengers told news outlets that they’ll be taken by ferry to a South Florida port on Sunday. It was unclear how many passengers were aboard, with one news outlet reporting 300 and another, 700. According to the company website, the vessel can carry up to 848 passengers.

The ship was scheduled to land in Miami on Saturday. But a federal judge in Miami issued an arrest warrant for the ship, a maritime practice where a U.S. Marshal goes aboard the vessel and takes charge of it once it enters U.S. waters.

The lawsuit was filed in a Miami federal court by Peninsula Petroleum Far East against the ship under a maritime procedure that allows actions against vessels for unpaid debts. The complaint says Crystal Symphony was chartered or managed by Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises, which are both sued for breach of contract for owing US$ 4.6 million in fuel.

Crystal Cruises announced earlier this week that it was suspending operations through late April. Besides Crystal Symphony, it has two other ships currently cruising, which end their voyages on Jan. 30 in Aruba and on Feb. 4 in Argentina.

“Suspending operations will provide Crystal’s management team with an opportunity to evaluate the current state of business and examine various options moving forward,” said the company in a statement earlier this week

Crystal Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida United States, founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and owned since 2015 by Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong.