In the wake of Celebrity Cruises’ announcement regarding the sale of the Meridian, a well-placed industry source said that the Chandris organization is set to approach Deutsche Seereederei (DSR) for the possible purchase or charter of the German line’s recently built vessel, the Aida. Since it has been rumored that DSR has financial difficulties because of a reneged offer of capital, the German operator could be amenable to some type of arrangement, possibly wtth Chandris.

Also supporting the speculation that Chandris may be looking for a ship in Europe is the fact that Chandns, which has operated ships in the European market for years, and is strong in Europe, especially in Germany, now has no ship in Europe, where the market is being carved up by other operators.