Oct 6, 2008 7:39 pm US/Eastern
SeaEscape Ship To Be Auctioned Next Week
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
Cruise Charter Ltd. will be forced to auction off the SeaEscape Entertainment vessel, after attempts to sell the ship or line up financing to satisfy creditors fell through.
The SeaEscape ship, also known as the M/V Island Adventure, is scheduled to be sold by the U.S. Marshals Service at the Broward County Courthouse on Thursday, October 16 at noon.
SeaEscape sailed for 21 years from Port Everglades, coming to a half on August 10th, supposedly due to the struggling economy, costs and competition from South Florida casinos. Marshals seized the ship August 23; a warrant was issued after some crew members alleged they had not been paid their wages.
A federal judge gave the ship's owner, Cruise Charter Ltd. of the Bahamas until September 26 to lease, sell or charter the ship in order to raise funds to pay existing claims, including unpaid wages. A representative told a judge at a court hearing last week that no deal had been reached.
SeaEscape's creditors claim the owners owe more than $2.3 million, including wages for around 145 crew members.
A lawyer for the crew members believes the ship will be sold as scrap metal, as demand for gaming ships have decreased and ship requires expensive renovations and repairs.
SeaEscape's website still has a message saying "SeaEscape has suspended sailing from Port Everglades and will be relocating to a new port in the next few weeks."
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
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