Cruise & Maritime Voyages

Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) was a British passenger shipping company headquartered in Purfleet, Essex, United Kingdom.[1][2][3] The company ceased operations in 2020 and entered administration.

History

Cruise & Maritime Voyages was formed in 2009, by parent organisation Cruise & Maritime Services International, after their German based Transocean Tours (for whom they were the UK representative) filed for bankruptcy.[4]

Cruise & Maritime Voyages positioned itself as "Providing ex-UK 'no fly' cruising holidays aboard smaller and medium-sized classic and more traditional style ships."[5] The company served an adult market, with an onboard style of traditional entertainment, dining and rooms using a fleet of older vessels.[6]

In December 2019, it was announced that the company acquired two new ships, P&O Australia's Pacific Dawn and Pacific Aria.[7]

In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cruise & Maritime Voyages temporarily halted operations, with the majority of ships laid up in Tilbury. On the 23 June 2020, five ships within the CMV fleet were detained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, including the MV Columbus, MV Vasco da Gama, MV Astoria, MS Astor, and MS Marco Polo, over crew welfare concerns after inspections revealed "expired and invalid seafarers employment agreements, late payment of wages and crews who had been on board for over 12 months." The MS Magellan was also inspected by the Agency but was not detained.[8]

Sky News reported on 15 July 2020 that the company was facing insolvency and was in talks with VGO Capital Management, which Sky described as "a special situations investor with expertise in the shipping industry", for additional financing. The company had previously sought a financing agreement with private equity firm Novalpina Capital; this attempt failed after Barclays declined to offer the company a state-backed loan.[9] Attempts to secure financing failed, and the company, including its German subsidiary, entered administration with Duff & Phelps Ltd. on 20 July 2020, with all trading ceased and all sales offices closed with immediate effect.[10]

It was reported on 19 August 2020 that the company's ships were actively for sale on the secondhand market, and that the Administrators were "said to be struggling with crew repatriation."[11] In November, at an auction sale, the company's fleet (excepting Astoria, which the company operated under charter from Banco Montepio of Lisbon) was sold for US$ 23,419,000.[12]

Just a few weeks before the outbreak of the pandemic, in November and December 2019, three ships of the fleet, the Marco Polo, the Magellan and the Astor underwent a maintenance and repair programme at Damen Shipyard in Amsterdam.[13]

Fleet

The following ships were operated or were scheduled to be operated by Cruise & Maritime Voyages.

External links

• MS Ocean Countess on Chris' Cunard Page https://www.chriscunard.com/history-fleet/cunard-fleet/1960-today/cunard-countess/