CHRISTCHURCH-BASED Heritage Expeditions is involved in a takeover of Vantage Travel Services, a Boston-headquartered tour and cruise company which declared bankruptcy last week. A notice on the Vantage website announced “United Travel Pte Ltd, an affiliate of Nordic Hamburg and Heritage Expeditions, has agreed to acquire Vantage’s assets and provide...
CHRISTCHURCH-BASED Heritage Expeditions is involved in a takeover of Vantage Travel Services, a Boston-headquartered tour and cruise company which declared bankruptcy last week.
A notice on the Vantage website announced “United Travel Pte Ltd, an affiliate of Nordic Hamburg and Heritage Expeditions, has agreed to acquire Vantage’s assets and provide customers with future opportunities for the travel experiences and the luxury service they have come to expect”.
A Chapter 11 filing seeks to expedite the sale promptly, with Singapore-based United Travel to pay UDS$1 million for Vantage’s business assets, while also providing conditional credits to clients who had made payments for trips before 11 May if they book a tour with the purchaser.
Vantage operated two expedition ships year-round, the Ocean Explorer (pictured) and Ocean Odyssey, both of which are part of the series manufactured by Sunstone in China which also includes Aurora Expeditions’ Greg Mortimer and Sylvia Earle and the recently launched Ocean Albatros and Ocean Victory operated by Albatros Expeditions.
The acquiring entity, United Travel, is owned by ship management firm Nordic Hamburg, which is also believed to provide vessel management services for Heritage Expeditions’ Heritage Adventurer.
Vantage was founded in 1983 as a specialist American operator of trips to Australia and New Zealand, particularly focusing on affinity groups including banks, teachers, and alumni associations.
It expanded into a consumer-facing brand some years later, also adding river cruise operations in Europe before in 2021 taking delivery of the first of its Sunstone expedition vessels.
The business is believed to have been trading well until Apr this year when it was hit by a ransomware attack, leading to the subsequent cancellation of several departures.
Heritage wasn’t able to comment on the deal before Cruise Weekly’s deadline today.
