The
General National Maritime Transport Company (GNMTC) of Libya is
getting ready to file a case against a European shipbuilder STX to
recover a vessel they lost when defaulting on payment.
The
ship, which was originally ordered by one of Kaddafi’s sons, was
purchased in 2012 by MSC Cruises after the Libyan government
defaulted on payment. The project was sidelined in 2011 and the hull
was eventually sold to MSC Cruises. The ship is now floating and in
service as MSC Preziosa.
According
to the African
Post,
“The ship is worth more than half a billion dollars and was first
ordered by GNMTC in 2010 but the contract was rescinded by the
shipbuilder, STX Europe, during the revolution claiming that payments
were no longer respected. The Libyan contract regarding the cruise
ship used to be under the control of one of Kaddafi’s sons.”
Will
this even happen? “When you default on a contract, you default on a
contract. Maybe with the new regime they are just trying to get some
headlines,” said Stewart Chiron the Cruise
Guy.
There
has been no official statement from the Libyan Government yet.
Cruise
Radio News
