From today's Miami Herald:MARITIME
Casino vessel sold for $3.8 million
V. Ships, a giant ship-management company based in Monaco, outbid 11 other parties for the St. Tropez Casino Cruises vessel.
BY PATRICK DANNER
pdanner@herald.com
The gaming ship once operated by St. Tropez Casino Cruises was sold in a courthouse auction Tuesday to a giant ship-management company for $3.8 million.
Monaco-based V. Ships topped 11 other bidders to acquire the 30-year-old vessel, which has been anchored off Fort Lauderdale's shores since May when gaming operations were suspended for lack of money. The offshore gaming industry has struggled in the past year or so with increased competition and higher costs.
Some observers didn't expect the St. Tropez to fetch much more than $1 million.
V. Ships presumably purchased the vessel on behalf of another party, but company representatives were tight-lipped about what plans are in store for the 398-foot ship. V. Ships, which claims on its website to be the world's largest ship-management and shipping-services company, says it services a fleet of more than 600 vessels.
Daniel Chui, managing director for V. Ships (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, and his Miami lawyer, Danielle Butler, wouldn't comment as they left the Broward County Courthouse following the auction held by the U.S. Marshals Service.
SHIP SEIZED
Marshals seized the ship in June after creditors, including current and former crew members, obtained federal court approval to take the extreme action. St. Tropez's parent company, Fort Lauderdale-based Florida Entertainment, had filed for bankruptcy in February in hopes of preventing the seizure.
Proceeds from the sale will go toward paying creditors, including the 160 current and former crew members who are owed about $300,000, and Fort Lauderdale's National Maritime Services -- the ship's custodian since the seizure. It said it's owed about $1 million.
But it won't be enough to pay all creditors in full. Nordea Bank, which holds a mortgage on the vessel, is owed about $6 million. The ship's Bahamian owner paid $8 million a few years ago.
''This is great,'' said Ross B. Toyne, a Miami lawyer representing crew members, many from the Philippines, Latin America and Europe. ``There's enough money in the pot that my guys should be paid in full.''
Toyne feared the auction would only generate enough to pay National Maritime, which will be paid before all other creditors. Officials for National Maritime, which marketed the vessel, were pleasantly surprised by the sale price.
''Our experts told us a million [dollars], but not much over a million,'' Mark H. Brown, National Maritime's operations manager, said.
MIX OF BIDDERS
The auction drew an eclectic group of bidders, including representatives for: Fort Lauderdale's Imperial Majesty Cruise Line; Palm Beach Casino Line; High Seas Shipping of Dubai; and Regal Holdings of the Bahamas.
The bidding opened at $500,000, but within minutes became too rich for all but V. Ships and Regal Holdings. Chui and Regal's representative, Fort Lauderdale lawyer Robert D. McIntosh, each had cellphones pressed to their left ears as they relayed their bids to a U.S. marshal.
Finally, after nine rounds of bidding that concluded with V. Ships' $3.8 million bid -- $50,000 more than Regal's, McIntosh simply said, ``We're out.''
Chui revealed a smile and little else before rushing out of the courthouse. V. Ships has until Friday to complete the transaction.
V. Ships' leisure management division, which has a Miami office, manages cruise ships, ferries and super yachts for third parties, according to company spokesman Mark Stokes in London. The Miami office's general manager didn't respond to a call.