FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Olympia Explorer and the Olympia
Voyager, Royal Olympia Cruises' former flagships, will go on the
auction block later this month, the line said.
The Olympia Voyager will be auctioned off March 26 in Miami, and
the Olympia Explorer will be auctioned off March 24 in Long Beach,
Calif., under a process initiated by the ships' creditors.
Royal Olympia and the two subsidiary companies that owned the
Olympia Voyager and Olympia Explorer reached a settlement with
German lenders in January to allow the lenders to repossess the
vessels and sell them at auction.
The ships have been idled in Florida and California for the past
two months, after the ship-owning subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11
reorganization in Honolulu.
Royal Olympia said it does not expect to receive any proceeds
from the sales.
The struggling cruise line said it relaunched short cruises from
Athens on one of its older ships, the Triton, after a decision by a
Greek court allowed the line to operate under a court-appointed
administrator.
But Royal Olympia cautioned that it has not yet secured
sufficient working capital to keep operating through the summer,
and operations could be canceled if further funding is not
found.
Meanwhile, another European cruise operator, Festival Cruises,
delayed the relaunch of its now four-ship fleet to April and May.
The line said negotiations with French and Italian banks are in the
"final stages."
To contact reporter Rebecca Tobin, send e-mail to [email protected].