As reported by: St Petersburg Times
Bankrupt Titan Cruise Lines wants, quite literally, to give up the ship.

Titan will hold an auction next month to sell the Ocean Jewel, a 450-foot casino ship that St. Petersburg officials once hoped would revive the city's small port and become a downtown attraction.

Titan filed for bankruptcy protection on Aug. 1 and tried to find investors to bail out the company, said Greg McCoskey, a Titan attorney.

"But we couldn't find anyone to make a firm offer on the business as a going concern," he said. With bills for maintaining the Ocean Jewel at a Tampa shipyard piling up, McCoskey said, Titan had no choice but to sell the Ocean Jewel and its assets.

More than 200 creditors filed claims against Titan totaling nearly $69-million.

The city of St. Petersburg says the company owes $159,000 in unpaid dock rent and passenger fees. But the city is holding a $108,000 deposit from Titan that could help offset the loss, said Joe Zeoli, the city's managing director of development administration.

First American Bank in Illinois, which financed the startup company, is the largest creditor. The bank says Titan owes more than $30-million in loans secured by company assets.

Titan was plagued with problems soon after the day in December 2002 when company officials and Mayor Rick Baker announced the ship would make daily gambling cruises from the Port of St. Petersburg.

Within months, Titan lost a local representative who was serving as chief financial office r and the company was sold to four Chicago-area businessmen.


Article By: St Petersburg Times