A cruise ship that was supposed to arrive in Miami is now headed for the Bahamas in a cinematic story. Lego that a United States judge authorized an order to confiscate the ship in the middle of a lawsuit for non-payment of fuel, Crystal Symphony is a runaway ship with hundreds of passengers on board.
Cruise ship locators show that the Crystal Symphony is now in Bimini, one of the islands in the Bahamas. While some media report that there are 300 passengers on board, others indicate that number actually scales to about 700. In total, the cruise ship has a capacity for 848 passengers.
The ship was supposed to arrive in Miami, yesterday, Saturday. However, after a federal judge in Miami issued an arrest warrant against the ship (a maritime practice in which a US marshal boards the ship and takes control as it enters US waters), the cruise ship changed its direction bound for the Bahamas.
Elio Pace, one of the musicians in charge of inflight entertainment, posted a thread on Twitter about the experience. According to him, the crew announced that the liquidation of the company would interrupt the extension of the trip and that all passengers should disembark at the port of Miami, as well as find their own way home. However, the company later changed this with the court order and disclosed that the ship would be diverted to Bimini, Bahamas.
Peninsula Petroleum Far East filed suit against the vessel under a maritime proceeding that allows action against ships for unpaid debts. According to the complaint, Crystal Symphony is managed by Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises, and both are sued for breach of contract and for owing $4.6 million in fuel.
Crystal Cruises announced days ago that it was suspending operations until the end of April.
Apart from Crystal Symphony, it has two other active cruises: one ends its tour on January 30 in Aruba and the other on February 4 in Argentina.
“The suspension of operations will give Crystal management an opportunity to assess its current business and assess its options for the future”, the firm said in a statement a few days ago.
With information from the AP agency