Cruise & Maritime Voyages(CMV) confirmed to Seatrade it is in discussion with potential lenders and investors in order to secure funding to see it through the current COVID-19 crisis.

The company, HQ’d in Essex, UK, with offices also in Australia and the US, was unable to secure a £25m loan from Barclays bank under a COVID-19 business interruption loan scheme and is now seeking alternative funding to bolster its liquidity.

CMV operates six ocean-going ships which are currently laid up.

CMV will take delivery of P&O Australia’s Pacific Dawn and Pacific Aria (to be renamed Amy Johnson and Ida Pfeiffer) in Singapore next March  and May, respectively, increasing lower bed fleet capacity to 9,000 berths and passenger capacity by 30% in 2021.

Suspended operations

It recently further extended the suspension of all worldwide cruises from July 1 to Aug. 25.

In a statement CMV said: ‘As the majority of other cruise lines have already done or are presently doing, CMV is also looking for additional financing to improve its liquidity position until sailing will resume again.’

A company spokesman added, ‘CMV is presently in discussions and negotiations with a number of financial institutions and banks – some that are at an advanced stage – and is confident to finalise these discussions very shortly and so is unable to comment on or disclose details of these discussions with individual parties until they are finalised.’