A luxury cruise liner carrying hundreds of people and destined for Miami was rerouted to the Bahamas on Saturday to avoid arrest for unpaid fuel costs totaling more than $1.2 million.
The Crystal Symphony was scheduled to dock in South Florida on Saturday following a two-week cruise in the Caribbean that began on Jan. 8, but instead docked at the Bahamian port of Bimini, according to NPR.
The report claims the detour was sparked by a lawsuit filed against Crystal Cruises' parent company, Genting Hong Kong.
Peninsula Petroleum Far East claimed that the business, which also owns Star Cruises, breached its marine contract by failing to pay a total of $4.6 million in fuel costs when all of its cruise operators' money was purportedly owed was included in the claim.
A U.S. judge issued an arrest warrant for the ship on Thursday, ahead of its expected Saturday arrival in Miami, implying that the ship will be taken by a U.S. Marshal and a court-appointed custodian.
On Sunday, around 300 people were relocated by ferry from Bimini, Bahamas, to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to Crystal Cruises. A spokesperson told the Associated Press that the ferry ride to Fort Lauderdale was "uncomfortable due to inclement weather."
"This end to the cruise was not the conclusion to our guests' vacation we originally planned for," the cruise line said in a statement.
Crystal Cruises said on the day the lawsuit was filed that it would be stopping operations for its ocean trips through late April and river cruises through May.
The company's two current cruises - one going for Aruba and the other for Argentina - will complete their journeys. Guests who have booked future trips will receive a full refund.
Last Monday, Genting Hong Kong filed a petition to close its business, marking one of the greatest disasters by a cruise line since the virus ravaged the industry. It's a dramatic example of how the coronavirus dragged once-thriving businesses to their knees, and it could affect cruise passengers throughout the region.
Genting Hong Kong has grown its operations beyond Star Cruises over the years, partially through acquisitions of other cruise lines. In the U.S., it purchased the Crystal Cruises brand and established the high-end Dream Cruises in Asia.
It was a time when the cruise industry's titans, such as Carnival Corp., were thriving as the sector continued to set new records for passengers vacationing.
In addition, beginning in 2015, the business purchased numerous shipyards in Germany to build its own vessels.
