Bets are off for stranded Hong Kong casino ship and forlorn crew

China Baoli Technologies Holdings

15/04/2016 14:05

By Farah Master 
    HONG KONG, April 15 (Reuters) - Captain Valerie Lyzhyn and 
his 45 crew are stranded in Hong Kong, big losers in a gambling 
slump triggered by a Chinese crackdown on corruption that has 
scared off the high-rollers. 
    Lyzhyn, 62, a Russian-born Ukrainian and veteran seaman, and 
his colleagues, refuse to leave their 140 metre (460 foot) 
casino cruiser the New Imperial Star until they get the six 
months of pay they say they are owed. 
    Hong Kong's Marine Department has impounded the ship due to 
what it called "serious deficiencies" found during an 
inspection.  
    Rations are running low, the ship's owners can't be reached 
and the cobalt blue felt covering the 16 baccarat tables is 
gathering dust. 
    "There's one egg per crew member per day," Lyzhyn told 
Reuters onboard the ship, which is moored a short barge ride 
away from a bustling port in eastern Hong Kong. 
    Breakfast was particularly miserable: "No sausages, no 
bacon, no milk, nothing." 
    Hong Kong's casino cruises flourished alongside the world's 
biggest gambling hub of Macau, across the mouth of the Pearl 
River from Hong Kong, until 2014. 
    It was then that Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a 
wide-reaching anti-graft campaign, snaring officials and 
powerful businessmen who had used Macau as a cash playground. 
    The gamblers have been steering clear. 
    "Really, business has gone down," Lyzhyn said, dressed in a 
tan uniform with gold and black lapels. 
    "One year ago we had 200 passengers, before we stopped 
operating we had only 50." 
     
    CONVOLUTED OWNERSHIP 
    Lyzhyn said the ship was detained in October last year after 
the owners failed to pay maintenance fees and as a result, it 
did not pass its inspections. 
    The crew is waiting to be paid salaries totaling $400,000,  
he said. 
    He said he did not know who the ship's owners were but it 
was managed by a company called Sky Wheel Limited. 
    Phone numbers for Sky Wheel did not work while Sea Hawk 
Asia, the ship's previous manager, said it was not able to 
comment on the situation. 
    Prior to 2014, there were 12 casino ships operating out of 
Hong Kong but Lyzhyn said that number has plunged to four. 
    The cruises typically pick up passengers at the teeming Tsim 
Sha Tsui pier in Hong Kong's Kowloon district and set sail at 8 
p.m. for international waters, returning to Hong Kong 12 hours 
later, after a night of gambling. 
    The boats are mostly owned by Macau junket companies which 
make use of convoluted ownership structures with multiple 
investors. 
    On the New Imperial Star, flies buzz around the kitschy 
chandeliers and the crew of 20 Ukrainians, 18 from Myanmar and 8 
Chinese can only wait. They may be there a while yet. 
    Lyzhyn said he hoped Hong Kong authorities would formally 
impound the ship in two weeks and then a legal process would 
start which he hoped would end, after a few months, with him and 
his crew being paid. 
 
 (Additinal reporting by James Pomfret, Venus Wu, Stefanie 
McIntyre; Tris Pan; Editing by Robert Birsel) 
 ((farah.master@thomsonreuters.com; +852 28431631 , +852 9631 
8262; Reuters Messaging: 
farah.master.thomsonreuters@thomsonreuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: HONGKONG SHIP/GAMBLING