Island Escape Cruises’ ship Island Escape has been arrested in Broome after a warrant was put out by Bank of New Zealand and Export Finance Norway.
The cruise ship sailed from New Zealand to Broome in May and was meant to make a series of 12-night ‘Wild Kimberley Coast’ 2022 round cruises from the northern WA town, but cancelled three.
There has been some mystery surrounding the company after Island Escape Cruises’ founder Peter Bissett reportedly resigned earlier this month and sales coordinator Nikita Smith also departed, leaving the cruise lines director Erik Helseth to take over as CEO.
Travel Weekly called Island Escape Cruises for comment but there was no response.
When a cruise ship is arrested, it is seized by authorities usually due to financial irregularities, and the ship does not operate until the underlying issue(s) at hand are dealt with.
At the beginning of the year, two Crystal Cruises ships diverted course to the Bahamas to avoid an arrest warrant put out on them by US authorities.
Crystal Serenity went to the Bahamas less than a fortnight in the wake of its parent company filing for liquidation, after Crystal Symphony was set to dock in Miami but diverted to the Bahamas after a federal judge issued an arrest warrant for the ship.
