- A fuel company sued Genting Hong Kong for $4.6 million in unpaid fuel bills last week.
- A US federal judge ordered that a cruise ship be arrested to repay $1.2 million in unpaid bills.
- Instead of docking in Miami, the Crystal Symphony docked in the Bahamas.
A luxury cruise ship changed course and docked in the Bahamas on Saturday after a US judge ordered its arrest as part of a lawsuit over millions in unpaid fuel bills, several outlets reported.
The Miami Herald reported that the Crystal Symphony, a Crystal Cruises ship, was supposed to arrive in Miami Saturday.
The Miami federal judge ordered the cruise ship to be seized if it entered US waters to repay $1.2 million in unpaid fuel bills owed by its operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd., Bloomberg reported.
WPLG reported that on Sunday afternoon, its cameras had caught footage of passengers being brought to Port Everglades by ferries from the Bahamas.
The Herald reported that the warrant issued on Thursday ordered the US Marshals to "arrest the Defendant vessel, her boats, tackle, apparel and furniture, engines and appurtenances and to detain the same in your custody pending further order of the Court."
The Herald reported that Genting announced on Wednesday that it would liquidate the company because of rising debt.
In a Twitter thread, Elio Pace, an entertainer on the ship wrote that passengers were initially informed of the liquidation on Wednesday and told that meant they had to disembark when the ship docked in Miami and find their own way home. Pace said he was supposed to stay on the ship until February 23.
On Thursday, Crystal cruises said it was suspending ocean cruises until at least April.
—Elio Pace (@ElioPace) January 22, 2022
On Friday, Pace wrote that after they'd arranged their flight and car, passengers were informed that the ship would instead dock in the Bahamas.
At the same time, Peninsula Petroleum Far East filed a civil suit in federal court and said Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises, which is also operated by Genting, owed them close to $3.4 million for already delivered fuel, and $1.2 million for the Crystal Symphony, the Herald and Bloomberg reported.
It's unclear how many passengers were on the cruise ship at this time but the company's site says it could accommodate 848.
In a statement, Vance Gulliksen, a spokesperson for Crystal Cruises said: "We know that today's transfer to Port Everglades via ferry was uncomfortable due to inclement weather. This end to the cruise was not the conclusion to our guests' vacation we originally planned for. "
Gulliksen said they're "unable to comment on pending legal matters at this time."
Genting and Pace did not respond to Insider's request for comment at the time of publication. The Associated Press reported that Crystal Cruises still has two other ships that are still cruising but are expected to disembark on January 30 and February 4.