In February it was announced that the former fleet of Classic International Cruises had found new homes. The company filed for Bankruptcy in October 2012 after the four operational ships in its five-ship fleet were arrested in various Mediterranean ports.
The bank that was the principal creditor has now sold all five ships, with Princess Daphne (1955/15,833gt) going to Greek interests working in conjunction with Alex and Emilios Potamianos, sons of the founder and former owner of Classic International, George Potamianos, who died last year. It is always possible that Princess Daphne will return under charter to Germany’s Ambiente Kreuzfahrten.
The other four ships, Arion (1965/5,888gt), Athena (1948/16,144gt), Funchal (1961/9,563gt) and Princess Danae (1955/16,531gt), were bought by Portuguese entrepreneur Rui Alegre, who will use them to start a new cruise line. Alegre has had experience in the leisure industry, but to date land- rather than sea-based.
