PAPE’ETE (Oceania Flash) — Two luxury liners that have been stranded in Pape’ete harbor since October last year may have found new potential buyers: the P&0 Cruises company, French Polynesia’s Tahitipresse agency reports.
The Renaissance 3 and Renaissance 4 belonged to Florida-based American company Renaissance Cruises, which last October announced it was filing for bankruptcy as a result of the global downturn on tourism caused by the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
Local authorities then seized the two ships as a “precautionary” measure, claiming the company owned local businesses substantial amounts of money. According to the local government, P&0 Cruises is currently considering operating one of the two liners in French Polynesia, while the other would be based in New Caledonia, another French Pacific territory.
French Polynesia President Gaston Flosse had earlier mentioned another possibility: that his government and other local interests take over the two ships and operate them in French Polynesia waters.
