MIAMI, FL – After a two-week cruise of the Caribbean, the Crystal Symphony was supposed to wrap up its cruise in Miami, but when the line was told U.S. Marshals were waiting there with an arrest and seizure warrant for $1.2 million in unpaid fuel bills. The ship headed to the Bahamas where American authorities have no jurisdiction to execute a warrant.
That leftover 300 passengers and hundreds of crew members stranded in the Caribbean nation. Later, the cruise line announced it was suspending all operations until April.
“On January 19, 2022, we announced that we have suspended voyages for our Ocean and Expedition ships through April 29, 2022, with River cruises suspended through the end of May 2022. Suspending operations will provide Crystal’s management team with an opportunity to evaluate the current state of business and examine various options moving forward,” the company said in a statement. “We have also paused our call center until further notice. Please visit https://www.crystalcruises.com/advis…/how-to-reach-crystal for information on how to reach a Crystal representative. We sincerely apologize to our guests for this situation and thank everyone for their understanding.”
Crystal Cruise Line is owned by Genting Hong Kong, Ltd. and knew if the ship docked in Miami, it would have been seized by federal agents.
“The U.S. marshal will be there with the arrest warrant if the ship shows up in Miami,” said J. Stephen Simms, th attorney representing Peninsula Petroleum Far East Pte. Ltd, according to Bloomberg. “My good money is that it’s not landing in Miami, from what we’ve been told. Our client is determined to recover.”
The line operate two large ocean bound cruise ships the Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, along with five river cruise ships and an expedition ship called the Crystal Expedition.