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Club Cruise bag Walrus22/6/2006Dutch operator Club Cruise has acquired the 1990-built Walrus from Sea Containers after a failed attempt to buy the ship in 2004. Sea Containers announced last week that it had completed the sale of Walrus 'for a consideration equal to related bank debt of $21m'. Club Cruise declined to confirm the price it had paid for the ship.Walrus, which has been laid up in Singapore for over six months, left the Far East on Tuesday, headed for somewhere in 'southern Europe' Guus Pulkerman, Club Cruise's operations manager told Seatrade Insider.
The voyage is expected to take 20 days. Upon arrival in the Med, the ship will undergo an extensive refurbishment, both on the hotel and technical sides, in either a French or Italian yard. For the past 10 years Walrus has been operated by Asian charterers as an overnight casino ship from Hong Kong.
Club Cruise which owns Van Gogh and Albatros, on charter to Travelscope and Pheonix Seereisen respectively, says Walrus will enter European service end-October 2006, exclusively for the French market.
Pulkerman would not say who has chartered the ship but confirmed, 'it is a year-round long term agreement and the ship will be deployed in Europe in summer and Caribbean or South America in winter starting from next year. It is too late to get long-haul flights arranged for a French fly-cruise product in the Caribbean for the coming winter,' he added.
The Walrus sale leaves Sea Containers with one cruise ship, Silja Opera, left to sell. These two ships were not part of the $594m cash and share deal struck last week between Sea Containers' subsidiary Silja Oy and Tallink Grupp. Sea Containers reports it is still looking for a buyer for Silja Opera and exclusive broker Galbraiths is offering inspection at UK port of Tilbury by arrangement.
I wonder which French operator?
Did we ever discover why the sale in 2004 fell through? She was then IIRC going to be chartered by Club Cruise to Travelscope.
Pam
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