An ship owned by a French cruise company currently undergoing liquidation proceedings will be put up for auction at the end of this month.
The expedition cruise ship Exploris One is set to be sold via auction in the wake of a failed attempt to sell it off under court supervision.
Originally built in 1984 as Silver Explorer, the ship was sold in 2022 to French cruise company Exploris, which was established earlier that same year.
Exploris One was originally scheduled to commence operational sailings with its new owner in 2023. However, only around 1,000 new passengers were served by the company in 2024 and 2,500 were accommodated the following year.
Exploris and a Canadian operator had entered into an agreement for the charter of the ship for three years beginning in 2026. The deal was cancelled even before it could commence.
Exploris said that the cancellation of the charter, "severely jeopardised the continuation of [the company's] activities," and that the "difficult economic climate" has impeded its operations in French-speaking markets.
The company entered liquidation late last year after a French court rejected a refinancing plan that had been submitted as part of administration proceedings.
Exploris One is presently laid up in Caen. Interested parties have until Friday, January 30, to submit their bids for its purchase.