LONDON: UK firm Cruise & Maritime Voyages has shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. CMV announced in June that it was looking for additional finance and it was hoped that last minute discussions with investor VGO Capital Management would save the firm.
But that wasn’t to be the case and this evening administrators Duff & Phelps announced Essex-based cruise line CMV had “ceased trading with immediate effect”.
Its international sales offices in Australia, France, the United States and TransOcean Tours in Germany have also been closed.
The company’s website this evening listed information for customers who had booked cruise packages which it said was protected by ABTA (Image: Internet Unknown)
Administrators Duff & Phelps said that the action was “likely to result in the redundancy of the UK employees and an uncertain future for those employees in the wider group.”
Paul Williams, joint administrator, Duff & Phelps, stated: “The travel, tourism and wider hospitality industry has been engulfed with a devastating and unprecedented global pandemic of seismic proportions impacting very hard on CMV’s once thriving cruise business compounded by last week’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advisory against cruise travel.”
Duff & Phelps have been appointed joint administrators of Cruise & Maritime Voyages Ltd (CMV) and sister companies Viceroy Ltd, Independent Coach Travel (Wholesaling) Ltd and South Quay Travel & Leisure Ltd.
Cruise ship programmes were suspended on March 13 due to the pandemic affecting more than 50,000 British and international passengers and hitting the business hard.
Paul Williams added: “Unfortunately, despite the collective very best efforts and being very close to securing the long-term finance needed, CMV was unable to conclude the funding within the timescales required which has led to the administration of the business.”
The company’s website this evening listed information for customers who had booked cruise packages which it said were protected by ABTA.
It said that all bookings that have not yet taken place are cancelled.
The company also sold a small number of flight-inclusive packages which are protected by the CAA’s ATOL scheme.
