Thread: Cruise operator Genting Hong Kong files to wind up company as cash runs out

In a filing to the Hong Kong exchange, Genting said the company will “imminently be unable to pay its debts as they fall due,” as liquidity dries up.


The embattled cruise operator said it filed the application to wind up the company at the Supreme Court of Bermuda, after the company “exhausted all reasonable efforts to negotiate with the relevant counterparties under its financing arrangements.”



Cruise operator Genting Hong Kong said Wednesday it has filed to wind up the company, as its cash is set to run out by end of January.


It comes on the heels of warnings last week from the company that it could face potential cross-defaults on financing arrangements worth $2.8 billion, as a result of the insolvency of its German shipbuilding subsidiary MV Werften.


In a filing to the Hong Kong exchange on Wednesday, Genting said the company will “imminently be unable to pay its debts as they fall due,” as liquidity dries up.


The embattled cruise operator said it filed the application to wind up the company at the Supreme Court of Bermuda, after the company “exhausted all reasonable efforts to negotiate with the relevant counterparties under its financing arrangements.”


However, the firm said in its Wednesday filing that certain businesses — including but not limited to the operations of cruise lines by Dream Cruises — shall continue.


Genting Hong Kong owns Star Cruises and Dream Cruises, which operate in the Asia region, as well as the Resorts World theme park in Manila. It also owns the Crystal Cruises line which offers a range of round trips from Miami, Antarctica and Barcelona.


“However it is anticipated that majority of the Group’s existing operations will cease to operate,” it said.

Genting Hong Kong is part of a bigger conglomerate that also includes Genting Malaysia and Genting Singapore. Among its assets, the conglomerate owns the Resorts World leisure park chain, which includes those in Singapore, New York City, and the United Kingdom. It also has 30 casinos across the U.K.


The company, controlled by Malaysian tycoon Lim Kok Thay, has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic as travel came to a standstill.


Trading of Genting Hong Kong shares were suspended on Tuesday, and will remain halted until further notice, said the firm.


Genting shares in Malaysia and Singapore were still trading on Wednesday. Genting Singapore shares were up 0.64%, and shares in Malaysia were down 1.72%


Legal battle in Germany


Genting Hong Kong was in the middle of legal proceedings with a regional government in Germany to drawdown a $88 million backstop facility – or backup funding for a secondary source of repayment – that’s related to MV Werften.


But in a ruling this week, the German federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern rejected Genting’s application to access the $88 million, according to Genting’s filing earlier this week.


“The Company and the Group have no access to any further liquidity under any of Group’s debt documents and the Company’s available cash balances are expected to run out on or around end of January 2022 according to the Company’s cashflow forecasts,” Genting said Wednesday.

It said it has applied to the court to appoint provisional liquidators, and has also sought to authorize the liquidators to undertake the firm’s debt restructuring.


The company reported a $238 million net loss for the period ending June 2021, as compared to a $742.6 loss million for the same period in 2020. Genting Hong Kong halted payments on debts of almost $3.4 billion in 2020, according to news reports.


Genting Hong Kong files for liquidation amid German lawsuit

‘Disgraceful end’: Luxury cruise ships seized by Feds in Bahamas


A luxury cruise ship operator is underwater — and left passengers high and dry.


US Marshals seized a pair of popular cruise ships in the Bahamas Friday upon allegations that their Miami-based owner, Crystal Cruises, has failed to pay $4.6 million in fuel bills.


Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony had only crew members on board, according to Cruise Law News, while hundreds of passengers faced “bedlam” after being hurriedly booted off the ships before the vessels were seized.


“What a dreadful, disgraceful end to a so-called luxury #cruise line,” tweeted Cruise Law News publisher and maritime attorney Jim Walker.

A third ship, the Crystal Endeavor, the line’s newest and most luxurious vessel, was seized in Argentina, Cruise Law News reported Saturday afternoon.


The Serenity and Symphony dumped their passengers in Bimini last month before setting sail for the perceived safety of international waters. The passengers, some of whom expected to cruise on to California, were ferried to Fort Lauderdale and then left to fend for themselves.

“Five hours in, we get off the ferry only to find all the luggage dumped everywhere, colors and numbers NOT together, luggage falling down, no porters and NO CRYSTAL REPS. NONE,” Serenity passenger Allyn Jaffrey Shulman wrote on Facebook. “No one giving instructions. No one helping the older folks. It was a shameful sight.”


Fuel supplier Peninsula Petroleum Far East filed a complaint in Florida last month seeking an arrest warrant against the cruise ships under US admiralty law, The Daily Mail reported.


The ships unloaded their passengers and hit the high seas after US federal district court judge Darrin Gayles approved the warrant.

It remained unclear how US officials had the authority to seize the ships in the Bahamas, Cruise Law News reported.


Meanwhile, passengers aboard the Crystal Endeavor disembarked Friday as the ship was held in Ushuaia, Argentina, by the country’s maritime authority over some type of unpaid bill, Seatrade Cruise News reported.


The issue was resolved as of Saturday night, the site reported, and the Endeavor was allowed to set sail again en route to Uruguay.

‘We are unable to comment on pending legal matters at this time,” Crystal Cruises spokesman Vance Gulliksen told The Daily Mail. “Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony’s voyages ended last month and there are no guests onboard.


“The officers and crew on board are being well cared for and staying in single accommodations some of which are guest staterooms, We are making sure they are comfortable and able to enjoy the various amenities on board. Crew members have been paid per their normal schedules and we are meeting and exceeding all contractual obligations.”


Crystal Cruises is owned by Hong Kong-based conglomerate Genting Hong Kong.


Crystal Serenity, Crystal Symphony cruise ships seized by US Marshals in Bahamas