Cruise and Corona
Cruise, Corona and bankruptcies: These shipping companies failed due to the pandemic
Dismantling yard in Aliağa in Turkey: On the left are the “Sovereign” and “Monarch” of the Spanish shipping company Pullmanturs, which had to file for bankruptcy in June 2020. On the right three ships from Carnival Cruises from the USA.
© Chris McGrath / Getty Images
The biggest crisis in the cruise industry to date began with the pandemic in spring 2020. In his book “Friday, March 13, 2020: The day the cruise ran aground” Franz Neumeier documents the dramatic events of the past two years.
There are cruise lines that have not survived the pandemic. Among others, the second largest British cruise brand, CMV, and a Spanish holding of the Royal Caribbean Group, Pullmantur Cruises, are affected. The German FTI Group, among others, is voluntarily giving up its cruise division.
Taken together, the shipping companies that will go bankrupt or give up voluntarily by mid-February 2022 have 18 cruise ships. With MV Werften, however, a shipyard company is also going bankrupt. However, even before the pandemic, MV Werften was in serious trouble.
In June 2020, Pullmantur Cruises applied for bankruptcy protection proceedings in Spain. The Royal Caribbean Group owns the three ships and holds a 49 percent stake in the Spanish shipping company. Springwater Capital Group owns 51 percent. Initially, there are still hopes for a reorganization and rescue of the company. But two of the three ships, the “Sovereign” and the “Monarch”, are scrapped. The “Horizon” lies off Eleusis near Piraeus in Greece.
The parent company of Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) and its German sales brand Transocean, South Quay Travel & Leisure Ltd., will file for bankruptcy in July 2020. CMV is the UK’s second largest cruise brand at this point. The four ships “Astor”, “Columbus”, “Magellan” and “Marco Polo” are sold for scrapping. The “Astoria” was last laid out in Rotterdam. The “Vasco da Gama”, on the other hand, goes to Mystic Cruises, where she drives for their German cruise brand Nicko Cruises.
Collapse of the Genting group
In October 2020, the “Karnika” (ex “Crown Princess”, ex “Aida blu”) will be the only ship of the Indian Jalesh Cruises to be chained up and sold by the creditors for scrapping in December 2020. The newly founded Jalesh Cruises only started operations on April 17, 2019.
The ultra-luxury shipping company Crystal Cruises hit it in early 2022: When the German company MV Werften filed for bankruptcy on January 16, 2022, the joint parent company Genting Hong Kong followed shortly afterwards. Crystal Cruises ceased operations shortly thereafter and the creditor banks began liquidating the company. The two Asian brands of Genting Hong Kong, Dream Cruises and Star Cruises, are also to be liquidated.
Three cruise providers are giving up voluntarily: At the beginning of July 2020, the Finnish Eckero Group decided to give up its cruise division with the Birka Cruises brand. The only ship in the fleet, the Birka Stockholm, is for sale and was last laid up in Mariehamn, Finland.
The German FTI Group is closing its cruise division FTI Cruises in July 2020. The only ship, the “Berlin”, is being sold to Dreamliner Cruises and is to be converted there into a luxury yacht called “Dream Goddess”. In the US, Blount Small Ship Adventures will be handing in the towel in August 2020 and plans to sell its three small ships “Grande Mariner”, “Grande Caribe” and “Niagara Prince”.
A little later, but all the harder the pandemic is also hitting the shipyard companies specializing in cruise ships, in particular the Meyer shipyards in Papenburg, Germany and Turku, Finland, Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France, the Italian Fincantieri shipyards and the German MV shipyards in Stralsund, Wismar and Rostock. The latter will file for bankruptcy in January 2022.
Dismantling yard in Aliağa: This is what the slaughterhouse for cruise ships looks like
10 images
While the cruise ship shipyards had full order books years in advance before the pandemic, shipping companies are now hesitating as far as possible to accept ships that have already been ordered, are not exercising options for further ships for the time being and are not commissioning any new ships. The shipyards have to reduce their staff and are looking for new business areas, at least temporarily.
After all, the Meyer Werft Papenburg can at least register a small new building order at the end of March 2021, one year after the shutdown in the cruise industry: The “Asuka II” for the Japanese shipping company NYK. A second order will follow with the residence ship “Njord” at the beginning of August 2021.
Excerpt from the book: “Friday, March 13, 2020: The day the cruise ran aground” by Franz Neumeier. 200 pages, price: as Paperback 14.80 eurosas E-book 7.80 euros at Amazon.de.
You might also be interested in:
This article contains so-called affiliate links. There is more information here.