2,400 Passengers Stranded as Cruise Ships Are Seized

Four luxury cruise ships owned by a U.S. company that abruptly suspended operations were seized by authorities Thursday in Canada, the Bahamas and Mexico. Officials said at least 2,400 passengers were put ashore.

The Rembrandt and the SeaBreeze were seized in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the Oceanic was impounded in the Bahamas; and the Big Red Boat III was taken in Cozumel, Mexico, officials said. All are owned by Premier Cruise Lines of Port Canaveral, Fla.

The company said it was flying the stranded passengers back to their ports of origin.

“Premier Cruise Lines was forced to suspend operations,” said a telephone recording at the company’s headquarters.

The company shut down after its primary lender, the New York investment firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, obtained court orders to seize the four ships, which had been put up for collateral, Catherine Conroy, a senior officer at the firm, told a news conference.