If I were a financial expert or, Heaven forbid, an accountant, I might be able to explain what’s happening with easyCruise. The company, which operates the 574-passenger vessel in the Aegean Sea, has been bought by the Greek ferry company Hellenic Seaways for 9 million euros.
But at the same time, easyEverything founder Sir Stelios Haji Iannou is reported to have bought a 5.5 per cent stake in Sea Star Capital, which is Hellenic’s largest shareholder for . . . you’ve guessed it, 9 million euros.
So has he, in effect, sold his own company to himself?
Stelios founded EasyCruise in 2005 as a no-frills product that did not
offer a full restaurant or housekeeping and did not allow children on board. The very orange ship would be in port during evenings so that passengers could dine and be entertained ashore, before travelling to the next port of call during the night and morning.
There was also a short-lived venture into the river cruise market.
The line’s current vessel is decorated in more restrained colours, and offers three and four night voyages from Athens and Kusadasi which are nearer to a traditional cruise experience.
It’s far from easy, though, to work out what’s next for the easyCruise Life.
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