A bid to kick out "eye-watering" claims for port dues accrued by two laid-up cruiseships has been rejected by the UK Admiralty Court.

Fees for the 63,800-gt Columbus (built 1989) and 55,900-gt Vasco da Gama (built 1993) were hiked steeply by the Port of Tilbury, near London, when operator Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) went into insolvency last year.

This involved an increase from an initial "preferred reduced rate" of £3,000 per week per vessel to as much as £100,000 ($137,000) per week for the Vasco da Gama, which...