OEC takes up option to buy Orion
A Report in Seatrade Insider says that KSL Capital Partners, the Denver-based private equity company that acquired Orion Expediton Cruises in May, is taking up the option to buy the 4,000gt Orion which OEC has operated under a long-term lease agreement with Explorer Maritime.
The 106-passenger ship was built at the Cassens Shipyard in Emden in 2003 and was brought to Australia in April 2005 by OEC founder and md, Sarina Bratton.
In the latest issue of ‘Pathways,’ a newsletter for past passengers, Bratton announced that the company had signed a memorandum of agreement and had paid the deposit on the purchase option for the ship.
She said the original agreement was for a five-year, plus three-year, plus three-year option for the charter of the vessel and there was a single purchase option to be declared this year.
‘’We have now secured the ongoing, long-term tenure of our wonderful ship and this is the first step in securing our growth strategy,’ she said.
Bratton, who was in the United States at presstime, also said OEC is ‘actively pursuing other ship opportunities.’
A Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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