Last Years Sale Rumours Explained

[Sailaway487]

Just found an article that explains the rumours from last year when IE was supposedly sold. Finally some confirmation that it was all true. This article was from early January this year:

 

The second Korean flag cruise ship is expected to launch her cruising service early April in the wake of the first Korean flag “Club Harmony” cruising service opened by Harmony Cruise last year. Lotusmine Co. Ltd. (Lotusmine), which is prepared to launch the second Korean flag cruising service, lately announced that it is planning to formally open cruising service early April by acquiring a cruising ship as soon as ship financing deal is closed.

 

Lotusmine had inked on Oct. 7 last year with Thomson Cruise, a U.K. cruising player, a purchase deal for ‘Lotus Cruise’ to be named (TBN) (ex-Island Escape) of 40,171gt class, but her delivery is somewhat behind schedule with ship financing deal talks with financiers taking more time on intermediate payment.

 

Lotusmine had initially planned to finalize the ship financing deal and to take over the vessel at the year-end of last year. The delay in negotiation with the financiers on the intermediate payment, however, has resulted in the buyer being deterred from its earlier acquisition of the vessel. With the financing deal coming to a successful close within this month, Lotusmine is expected to possibly acquire the vessel at the end of this month at the earliest.

 

The cruising line already dispatched to ‘Lotus Cruise’ TBN in November last year its first transition team comprising a captain and a chief engineer. It is planning to take her over at the end of this month upon completion of remaining installment payment when the ship financing is fully closed, and then to put her at Busan for repairs and remodeling. ‘Lotus Cruise’ TBN, now anchoring at Limassol of Cyprus, takes 15 days to sail for Busan, where she is calling by mid-Feb for her repair works for a month and is likely ready for her maiden voyage early April.

 

‘Lotus Cruise’ TBN measures 185m in length, 30m in breadth with 40,171 gt, capable of accommodating 530 crews and 1,740 passengers as a classic European cruising ship, and has swimming pool, casino, buffet, big theater, fitness club, spa and kids club. She was built in 1982 at Dubigeon-Normandie S.A. in France as the largest cruising ship upon her delivery grabbing the world’s attention at the time, and was remodeled in 2009.

 

http://eng.maritimepress.com/news/quickViewArticleView.html?idxno=1376

 

So the ship was going to Korea, and the deal was about to be done around 07 October, around the time that the crew had supposedly been told that they had been made redundant, and then the deal being finalised at the end of January 2013. So it was all true. I am guessing then the contract between Lotus and TUI fell through, hence why the sudden decrease in price recently of the ship. Interesting though!

[jenny wren]

Thanks for posting that information Sailaway....that does clarify things....and shows that there is usually some truth in rumours!!!!:)