Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the UK based destination focused cruise operator, will offload the 1993 built Braemar of 24,344 gross tons, it has been reported.

The ship remains in lay up in Rosyth in Scotland, while the other three ships of the company that is part of the Bonheur group that is headquartered and listed in Oslo have returned to service a long time ago.

Bonheur said in its third quarter report that is dated 8 November that Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ average occupancy for the three ships in the quarter was 73% (62%) with a net ticket income of £188 per diem in the quarter compared to £191 for the same quarter in 2021.

“The EBITDA was negatively impacted by technical issues with Balmoral’s starboard propeller resulting in the ship requiring a short dry dock to repair and the cancellation of a 11-night cruise during the peak holiday season. Furthermore, some cruises during the quarter experienced lower than expected occupancy due to last minute cancellations and transfers because of guest concerns with rising cases of Covid-19 in the UK,” the company said in a statement.

EBITDA was negative by NOK42 million in the review period, an improvement from negative by NOK138 million

In addition, operating costs rise by the increase in fuel costs in the quarter as a result of the prolonged conflict in the Ukraine together with the significant weakening of British pound against the US dollar.

“An impairment charge was made in the quarter of NOK 456 million to the asset value of the two older cruise ships. This is impacted by the challenging market situation, higher operating expenses in the cruise industry in combination with increase in discount rate,” the company said.

The charge refers to Braemar and the 1988 built Balmoral that is of 45,088 gross tons. Bolette and Borealis, the two other ships of the line, were built in the mid-1990s and were acquired from Holland America Line during the pandemic.

Braemar was built in Spain as Crown Dynasty for the now defunct Crown Cruise Line and Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines acquired the ship in 2001. Much smaller than its three peers, it has been able to navigate the Corinth canal in Greece and sail up the Guadalquivir river to Seville in Spain. However, most of its cabins are significantly smaller than those on the other ships of the line.