ss Rotterdam sold for 29.9 million Euros

[Anton Heuff]

The future of Holland America Lines' former flagship ROTTERDAM, permanently moored in her home port since August 2008, seems to be secured now that a new owner from The Netherlands has been found. Among prospective buyers were business men from Oman. The ship changed hands last week for 29.9 million Euros. The consortium which owned her broke their neck over the restauration cost, which  exploded into 250 million Euros caused by asbestos removal. They were forced into selling the ship to unburden the balance sheet. On the positive side it should be mentioned that after completion of the refurbishment of cabins and public spaces the intended exploitation of the ship as a hotel and congress center began to gain momentum. The new owner, Dutch WestCord Hotel Group, will continue and further develop it. Incidentally WestCord also owns the Hotel New York in Rotterdam, which is the former head office of Holland America Line. The city of Rotterdam said it was delighted that the ship will remain where she is now. (Anton Heuff, based on Dutch newspaper reprts 2 Nov. 2012)

[Jens Boldt]

Nice to hear this. I spent two nights aboard in 2011 and really enjoyed it. So if you're planning to visit Rotterdam, why not stay aboard SS Rotterdam? Judging from my experience I can recommend it.

Cheers,
Jens

[Michael Brinkmann]

Totally agree! I have spend some nights on her too and esp. her cabins are really old but well conserved style. Only the false midnight-fire-alert wasn't funny, because it has heavy rain that night.

Michael

[Robert Smith]

The sellers may run into a problem. They have leased the hotelservices on board till 2020 to Lucas Petit. Unfortunately sellers "forgot" to inform him about the impending sale. He is not willing to renege on the lease in favour of the new vessel owners, Westcord hotels. But Westcord is not willing to take over the vessel without running the hotel services themselves.

And on top of this today it became known that another party, the son of the owner of Westcord hotels, claims to have had the right of first refusal to buy the ship.
Catch 22.....(to be cont'd).

 

[Robert Smith]

Unfortunately the disputes on the deal will be decided in court. Two different parties are now claiming ownership. On top of this, the company running the present hotelservice is claiming breach of contract. The sellers, a building society, made a mess when they bought the ship. But they can't even handle an outright sale without cocking it up. The politicians cry havoc. To be cont'd.....

 

[Robert Smith]

The "Rotterdam" sold ? Well, not quite. Today the parties involved appeared in court.
The building society "Woonbron" claims to have sold the vessel for US$ 30 mln to the "Westcord Hotel Group", owned by Harry Westers. But his renegade son, Christian Westers, backed by entrepreneur Peter Versluis, claims that the building society sold the ship to them for US$ 43 mln and put a lien on the vessel.
On top of this, the present lessees of hotels, catering services, restaurants and other facilities on board are claiming breach of contract by "Woonbron".
"Woonbron" demanded the end of the lien but this request was denied by the court. So it is still a legal mess, and will not be solved any time soon. It goes without saying that the local politicians are not pleased by these developments, to say the least.
(to be cont'd....)

 

[Jens Boldt]

Thanks for keeping us up-to-date in this case, Bob!

Cheers
Jens

[Robert Smith]

The soap continues...a brief synopsis of developments thus far:
When the "Rotterdam" became part of a bankruptcy and the risk was there she'd end up at Alang, people in Holland decided to try and save her. They were very succesful. The local politicians would not spend a penny on the project but the bureaucrats in  The Hague quickly found a solution. A semi-public building society, called "Woonbron" a.k.a. "the amateurs" made funds available under a project to restore a derelict quarter, named "Katendrecht". This quarter is situated on a peninsula in the river and until the seventies was known as Rotterdam's red light district. Among refurbishments and newly built highrises the "Rotterdam" would boost the quarter's morale, employment and tourism. So far so good.
The intial costestimate for the restoration of the vessel was

[Robert Smith]

The sorry saga continued this week in court. Ruling expected on May 7th., 2013. If the sale to either party does not materialize, an "Emergency auction" may have to be held, because the politicians will force the amateurs to sell the ship to the highest bidder to ward off a possible bankruptcy. She may then end up anywhere between Amsterdam and Alang. A Rotterdam vessel to end up in Amsterdam would be a shame, but it's the lesser of two evils....
One way or the other, the present lessees of hotel- and restaurant facilities are intending to sue the amateurs for breach of contract.

But the bright side is that the vessel is very succesful attracting visitors. It has done a lot to boost the status of the former derelict quarter of Katendrecht. There is a healthy operational profit, but it will be impossible for the amateurs to recover their original cost of

[Robert Smith]

The lien on the vessel which was implemented by the Veka group, has been annuled by the Court of Appeal in The Hague. This means that the sale of the vessel to Westcord is valid and that the vessel will stay at her present berth.

On the other hand, there is no deal yet with the present lessees of hotel- and restaurant facilities. They will now probably sue for breach of contract.

One more hurdle to take .....