London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Dec 01, 2025

Genting Hong Kong cruise ship to be seized for fuel bills if it docks in Miami, U.S court issues arrest warrant

Genting Hong Kong cruise ship to be seized for fuel bills if it docks in Miami, U.S court issues arrest warrant

The Crystal Symphony, a luxury cruise ship operated by financially strapped Genting Hong Kong Ltd., will be seized to repay US$1.2 million in unpaid fuel bills if it docks in Miami Saturday, amid reports the vessel is being diverted to the Bahamas after a U.S. court issued an arrest warrant.
A U.S. Marshall and a court-appointed custodian are ready to arrest the ship if it comes into port as scheduled Saturday morning in the Florida port city, according to J. Stephen Simms, the lead attorney representing Peninsula Petroleum Far East Pte. Ltd. who said he has been told of the plan.

Peninsula Petroleum Far East filed a lawsuit in the U.S. district court seeking to recoup US$4.6 million in total unpaid fees for bunker fuel it has delivered to three of Genting’s ships since 2017. A U.S. federal district judge in Miami issued the arrest warrant for the Crystal Symphony Thursday, according to Simms and trade publication TradeWinds.

“The U.S. Marshall will be there with the arrest warrant if the ship shows up in Miami,” said Simms. “My good money is that it’s not landing in Miami, from what we’ve been told. Our client is determined to recover.”

Genting Hong Kong became the biggest cruise operator worldwide to seek court assistance to safeguard its assets during the pandemic when it said on Wednesday that it filed with the Supreme Court of Bermuda to appoint provisional liquidators after exhausting “all reasonable efforts” to negotiate with creditors and stakeholders. The company reported a record loss of US$1.7 billion in May as the pandemic ravaged the cruising industry. Its German shipbuilding subsidiary, MV Werften, went into insolvency last week.

A representative for Crystal Cruises couldn’t be immediately reached for comment, while a spokesperson for Genting Cruise Lines, which operates the Crystal Cruises brand, deferred to Crystal Cruises. A Miami port representative couldn’t be immediately reached after business hours.

Peninsula Petroleum said it delivered bunker fuel to another of the company’s vessels, the Crystal Serenity, as recently as Jan. 17 in Miami, according to the lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida court. It plans to seize the ship and sell it to recoup costs, Simms said.

Simms said he was told by Miami port authorities Friday that the Crystal Symphony no longer plans to dock in Miami early morning Saturday as scheduled. Port authorities had confirmed the information with the pilots of the liner, he was told. The vessel is now scheduled to dock in Bimini in the Bahamas, where a U.S. arrest warrant can’t be executed, said Simms. Passengers on the ship also confirmed the itinerary change.

Lisa Jimenez, a passenger on the Crystal Symphony posted on Facebook about the sudden change. “Does anyone want to guess why ?our ship, The Crystal Symphony, can now no longer disembark in Miami? We received noticed that we ?are being taken to Bimini, Bahamas, put on a ferry, and taken to the USA that way. Hmmmm.”

London property lawyer John Dresner posted to Twitter to appeal to Mundy Cruising, the U.K. travel site that he said booked his Bahamas trip, for help after the route change to the Bahamas. Passengers were told that the ship would divert to Bimini, where Genting operates a resort and casino, and that they would be ferried back to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, SeaTrade reported.

Passengers on the Crystal Symphony, which has capacity of 848 berths, were on a 14-day voyage through the Caribbean, which started from Miami on Jan. 8 and was scheduled to return to the port on Jan. 22. Genting Malaysia Bhd, part of the Genting empire of companies held by billionaire Lim Kok Thay, operates Resorts World Bimini Bahamas.

Crystal Cruises has suspended its ocean and expedition trips through April and has halted its river cruises to the end of May, according to a statement earlier in the week. It is offering refunds. The company’s three vessels in operation will complete their current voyages, with the latest one ending its journey in Ushuaia, Argentina, on Feb. 4
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
UK Court Hears Challenge to Ban on Palestine Action as Critics Decry Heavy-Handed Measures
Investors Rush Into UK Gilts and Sterling After Budget Eases Fiscal Concerns
UK to Raise Online Betting Taxes by £1.1 Billion Under New Budget — Firms Warn of Fallout
Lamine Yamal? The ‘Heir to Messi’ Lost to Barcelona — and the Kingdom Is in a Frenzy
Warner Music Group Drops Suit Against Suno, Launches Licensed AI-Music Deal
HP to Cut up to 6,000 Jobs Globally as It Ramps Up AI Integration
MediaWorld Sold iPad Air for €15 — Then Asked Customers to Return Them or Pay More
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Promises ‘Full-Time’ Education for All Children as School Attendance Slips
UK Extends Sugar Tax to Sweetened Milkshakes and Lattes in 2028 Health Push
UK Government Backs £49 Billion Plan for Heathrow Third Runway and Expansion
UK Gambling Firms Report £1bn Surge in Annual Profits as Pressure Mounts for Higher Betting Taxes
UK Shares Advance Ahead of Budget as Financials and Consumer Staples Lead Gains
Domino’s UK CEO Andrew Rennie Steps Down Amid Strategic Reset
UK Economy Stalls as Reeves Faces First Budget Test
UK Economy’s Weak Start Adds Pressure on Prime Minister Starmer
UK Government Acknowledges Billionaire Exodus Amid Tax Rise Concerns
UK Budget 2025: Markets Brace as Chancellor Faces Fiscal Tightrope
UK Unveils Strategic Plan to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains
UK Taskforce Calls for Radical Reset of Nuclear Regulation to Cut Costs and Accelerate Build
UK Government Launches Consultation on Major Overhaul of Settlement Rules
Google Struggles to Meet AI Demand as Infrastructure, Energy and Supply-Chain Gaps Deepen
Car Parts Leader Warns Europe Faces Heavy Job Losses in ‘Darwinian’ Auto Shake-Out
Arsenal Move Six Points Clear After Eze’s Historic Hat-Trick in Derby Rout
Wealthy New Yorkers Weigh Second Homes as the ‘Mamdani Effect’ Ripples Through Luxury Markets
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
UK Unveils Critical-Minerals Strategy to Break China Supply-Chain Grip
Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” Extends U.K. No. 1 Run to Five Weeks
UK VPN Sign-Ups Surge by Over 1,400 % as Age-Verification Law Takes Effect
Former MEP Nathan Gill Jailed for Over Ten Years After Taking Pro-Russia Bribes
Majority of UK Entrepreneurs Regard Government as ‘Anti-Business’, Survey Shows
UK’s Starmer and US President Trump Align as Geneva Talks Probe Ukraine Peace Plan
UK Prime Minister Signals Former Prince Andrew Should Testify to US Epstein Inquiry
Royal Navy Deploys HMS Severn to Shadow Russian Corvette and Tanker Off UK Coast
China’s Wedding Boom: Nightclubs, Mountains and a Demographic Reset
Fugees Founding Member Pras Michel Sentenced to 14 Years in High-Profile US Foreign Influence Case
WhatsApp’s Unexpected Rise Reshapes American Messaging Habits
×