Star Pisces, one of the final ships in service for the former Genting Hong Kong’s cruise line Star Cruises, has arrived in India to be scrapped. The cruise ship is currently anchored off the coast in Alang, one of the largest ship-breaking yards in the world.
Star Cruises went out of business with parent-company Genting Hong Kong earlier this year, resulting in all ships in the fleet, including Superstar Aquarius, SuperStar Gemini, and Star Pisces being offloaded for scrapping.
Star Pisces To Be Scrapped
According to the Cruise Ship Tracker, Star Pisces arrived off the coast of Alang, India, where she is sitting at anchor waiting to be beached. The vessel will then eventually be scrapped.
After the Genting Hong Kong Group filed for insolvency, the end came quickly for Star Cruises and its fleet of cruise ships, Superstar Aquarius, SuperStar Gemini, and Star Pisces. While the cruise line had reached and long surpassed its high point many years prior, many guests still enjoyed sailing onboard smaller ships from a series of Asian homeports.
Star Pisces spend most of her lifetime with Star Cruises sailing from Hong Kong on short cruises, especially popular as casino cruises.
Star Pisces was built in 1989 at the Masa shipyards in Turku, Finland, better known now as the Meyer Turku yard, as the RORO ferry MS Kalypso. Its first owner, Rederi AB Slite, went bankrupt in early 1993, at which point Star Cruises acquired the vessel and converted it to be used as a cruise ship in Asia.
The vessel sailed her first cruise from Singapore in April 1994, after which the vessel spent her time making day and night cruises from Hong Kong. After parent company Genting Hong Kong declared insolvency earlier this year, Star Pisces never sailed again, marking an end to 30 years of service.
Genting Hong Kong’s Rise and Fall
Lim Kok Thay started his cruise ferry and gambling ship business in 1993 in Hong Kong and turned it into one of Asia’s biggest cruise operators. Its first ships were all second-hand, and it was only during the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s that it started purchasing new ones.
In 2000, Star Cruises acquired Norwegian Cruise Line, including Orient Lines and the Norwegian Capricorn Line. The move made it the largest globally operating cruise company.
Over the years, Genting Hong Kong extended its business beyond Star Cruises, partly by acquiring other cruise lines and partly by selling Norwegian for a healthy profit. It bought Crystal Cruises in the U.S. and set up Dream Cruises in Asia. The company even started buying up shipyards to be able to build its newest ships cheaply.
However, the pandemic signaled the end for Star Cruises and its parent company Genting Hong Kong. With cash running out, the company’s shipyard, MV Werften in Germany, filed for insolvency first, followed by Genting Hong Kong itself and Crystal ships facing arrest in the United States.
With Star Pisces being scrapped, the Crystal cruise ships sold to Silverseas and Abercrombie & Kent, World Dream II heading to the scrapyard, and uncertainty about what will be happening with World Dream I, there isn’t much left of the former giant.
However, don’t feel bad for Lim Kok Thay. The former CEO and owner quickly jumped ship after Genting Hong Kong filed for insolvency. He has since started a new cruise company under his Resorts World brand of companies, Resorts World Cruises.
