EffJohn International President Hans H. Christner has denied the persisten rumors that Effjohn is considering selling off Crown Cruise Line.
As Finnish/Swedish Effjohn, parent company to Crown and Commodore Cruise Line, last month announced losses for the first eight months of the year and that it expected to lose money in the last four months as well, the rumor mill here started to grind again. Various reports had Effjohn selling Crown to Carnival Cruise Lines or Celebrity Cruise Lines. A spokesperson for Carnival said that Carnival was not “interested in acquiring Crown” while a senior executive at Celebrity Cruise Lines said that that company “was not involved in any negotiations with Effjohn.”
Christer also confirmed that the Caribe will be withdrawn from service and returned to her owners at the end of April 1993.
Delta Queen Steamboat Company reported a $2.2 million profit in its second fiscal quarter ended September 30, 1992. Total profits for the fiscal year so far are $5.9 million on revenues of $36.9 million.
After it was reported in British shipping press that Kloster Cruise intends to build 10 more ships before the end of the decade, the shares of its parent company, VARD, took a temporary dive on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Norwegian analysts said that the market did not react favorably to Kloster Cruise taking on more debt Vard executives, meanwhile, said that company has no immediate plans to order new ships. At press time, Vard traded for NOK 33.50 on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
The Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) has reported net income of $233,000 on revenues of $87.6 million in the third quarter ended September 30, 1992, compared to net income of $14.4 million on revenues of $110.9 million last year. OSG, which now holds a 49 percent interest in Celebrity Cruise Lines, suffered from depressed tanker and bulk markets.
Premier Cruise Lines is said to be renegotiating contracts with all of its vendors including food, fuel, laundry, etc.
In the French West Indies, St. Barts has announced that it is not only not going to raise its passenger tax, instead it has reduced its passenger bead tax from about $6 (30FF) to about $4 (20FF).
