The fate of an old casino cruiseship under arrest in Penang will be decided by Malaysia’s Admiralty Court on 15 July.

The 18,500-gt Oriental Dragon (built 1972) will be put on the auction block unless its Hong Kong-based owners are able to secure funds to pay off claims filed by unpaid crew and trade creditors.

The auction means the Oriental Dragon, which in its heyday as the Sun Viking was one of a trio of cruiseships that launched cruise giant Royal Caribbean, will probably join a growing list of older cruiseships heading for the scrapheap due to Covid-19.