What went wrong with Crystal Symphony cruise ship? Drama explained as British musician tweets "surreal episode"

The cruise ship Crystal Symphony has left many of its passengers fuming. On January 23, 2022, British musician Elio Pace took to sharing a thread of tweets about the situation.

The 53-year-old singer wrote that the captain of the ship informed passengers and crew that they would dock in Miami on January 22 but instead veered off to Bimini in the Bahamas. Once there, he, along with 700 passengers and crew, were asked to disembark and make their own arrangements to return to their homes.

Pace also mentioned that they were told that the parent company of Crystal Cruises, Genting Hong Kong, had gone into liquidation to an extent of $4 billion.

As per his tweets, the singers had already booked a flight and arranged for a taxi for commuting.

"I wouldn’t believe it unless I was right here experiencing this surreal episode myself!"

Concluding his thread, Pace said that he felt really bad for the staff of the ship as their livelihoods depended on the cruise.

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What happened to cruise ship Crystal Symphony?

The Crystal Symphony rerouted at the last minute because the ship had an arrest warrant in its name after its parent company Genting Hong Kong did not pay its $3.5 million fuel bill. If the ship were to enter U.S. waters at any port, it would be seized by authorities.

All Crystal Cruises ships have been suspended until spring as the parent company attempts to restructure its debt.

The luxury cruise line announced it would cease all ocean sailing through April 29 and halt all river sailings through the end of May. As of now, all ships sailing — Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony in the Caribbean, and Crystal Endeavour in Antarctica — will finish out their current voyages before they are suspended.

Cruise Critic reported that Crystal's parent company, Genting Hong Kong, filed for bankruptcy.

Crystal's president, Jack Anderson, said in a statement that though the decision is difficult, it is prudent in this business environment:

"Crystal has been synonymous with luxury cruising for more than 30 years and we look forward to welcoming back our valued guests when we resume operations."

At nearly the same time that Genting Hong Kong filed to unwind, fuel supplier Peninsula Petroleum Far East filed in Florida to arrest Crystal Symphony under American admiralty law.

Peninsula claimed Genting's subsidiaries had failed to pay $4.6 million in fuel payments, of which $1.2 million was attributed to the Crystal Symphony.

In a ruling on January 21, Judge Darrin Gayles of the United States District Court in Southern Florida approved the warrant, and the ship will now be impounded if it arrives at any U.S. port.

Controlled by Malaysian business tycoon Lim Kok Thay, Genting Hong Kong was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.