Purported Crystal Cruises captain claims arrest “actually a good thing”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity have been arrested and anchored off Freeport, Grand Bahama, due to unpaid fuel bills in the United States, according to Acting Port Controller Commander Berne Wright.
Crews from both vessels, which are Bahamian-registered, continued to be repatriated to their respective countries yesterday.
I received a warrant of arrest with a summons from the Supreme Court which instructed me as the admiralty marshal to arrest the ships.
– Acting Port Controller Commander Berne Wright
Wright said authorities acting on a Supreme Court order handed down last week arrested the vessels sometime between 9pm and 10pm on Friday.
He was unable to provide specific numbers, but indicated that remaining crew members are still on board the respective ships.
“I received a warrant of arrest with a summons from the Supreme Court which instructed me as the admiralty marshal to arrest the ships,” Wright said.
“Now, there are legal implications, so the Port Department is working with the Attorney General’s Office and the Bahamas Maritime Authority.
“The crew, they have started the process of having the crew repatriated.
“That is what they call safe manning, so that number of persons will come from the engineering section and the navigation sections — the watch deck — and once that is determined, the remainder of the crew, the hospitality ones, will be repatriated from the ship, which remains under arrest until other instructions are received from the Supreme Court.
“They are not in port; they are at the Freeport anchorage, just off of Freeport.”
Both vessels diverted to The Bahamas after a United States federal district judge in Miami issued an order against the cruise line and its ship over the alleged non-payment of $4.6 million in fuel.
When previously contacted about the US order as the vessels disembarked passengers on Bimini, officials said The Bahamas did not have jurisdiction at the time.
Some unfortunate news, but it was actually quite expected.
– Purported Crystal Cruises captain
The ships had previously been denied port in Aruba.
In a video recording posted on Twitter at 1.15pm on Saturday, a purported announcement from one of the captains can be heard over the intercom about the vessel’s arrest.
“The ship has been placed under arrest by the local authorities over some unpaid bills, and as bad as it sounds, it’s actually quite a good thing to happen and we’ve been told this will not affect any [personnel] movement,” he said.
“So, the crew movement and the crew sign-offs can still go as planned and we are in the process of preparing those.
“Some unfortunate news, but it was actually quite expected. Thank you for this and until later.”
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