Port Canaveral Casino Ship Victory I Seized in South Carolina Shipyard Over Nearly $800,000 Unpaid Bill

The Victory I, the casino ship that ran daily gambling cruises out of Port Canaveral, remains sidelined at a South Carolina shipyard after a federal judge issued a warrant for its seizure in a dispute over nearly $800,000 in unpaid repair and storage charges. The ship has not sailed since Sept. 28, its employees have been furloughed and its operator, Victory Casino Cruises, has not said when or whether it will return to Brevard County.

Detyens Shipyards Inc. of Charleston filed the lawsuit Oct. 15 in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, alleging that Sophlex Enterprises Inc., which does business as Victory Casino Cruises, owes $790,666 for vessel storage, repairs and other services, Florida Today reported. The court issued the warrant Oct. 19, and a federal marshal served the vessel Oct. 28 at the Detyens shipyard, where the ship was listed as being located.

What the shipyard is seeking

The case is an admiralty action, the branch of federal law that governs ships and maritime commerce. Detyens is seeking to enforce a maritime lien against the vessel and recover the money it says it is owed, according to Florida Today. Under maritime law, a lien lets a creditor that provided necessary services to a ship, such as repairs, make a claim against the vessel itself, and a court can order the ship held, or "arrested," while the claim is decided.

U.S. District Judge David Norton approved the warrant of arrest, Casino.org reported. The warrant covers the ship and property aboard, according to Florida Today, and other outlets reviewing the filings reported that it reaches the vessel's onboard slot machines and casino equipment.

As of Oct. 29, the court docket showed no response from Sophlex or Victory Casino Cruises, Talk of Titusville reported. Under federal admiralty rules, the owner of an arrested vessel can request a prompt hearing at which the party that sought the arrest must show why it should not be lifted.

What Victory Casino Cruises says

In a statement Friday reported by WKMG News 6, Victory Casino Cruises said it is disputing a portion of the charges, but did not say how much of the shipyard's bill it considers valid. The company said it is working to resolve the dispute and plans to post updates on its website and Facebook page. It has not announced a timeline for the ship's return.

Port Canaveral officials said they have not heard from the company. "Victory Casino has not communicated anything relative to the status of their vessel or its return to service," the port said in a statement, according to News 6.

How the shutdown unfolded

The trouble began before the lawsuit. The Victory I spent time in dry dock over the summer and returned for a few sailings at the end of September before being taken out of service again, TheStreet reported. It went back into dry dock after a Sept. 28 sailing, and the company later announced an extended suspension as additional work kept the ship out of service, according to Florida Today.

"While we had hoped to resume sailing sooner, additional necessary work has extended our time out of service," the company wrote in a Sept. 24 Facebook post signed by its captain, according to TheStreet. The post said the line would not accept reservations until it had confirmed a date to return to sailing.

The key dates so far:

Workers and customers left waiting

Victory furloughed its staff as the dry dock dragged on. "Last week, due to the extension of the ship's dry dock, Victory was forced to furlough all of its employees, myself included," Pete Lynch, who oversaw bookings and events for the line for 15 years, wrote in a public Facebook post cited by The Space Coast Rocket and TheStreet. TheStreet reported that several hundred workers were affected; the company has not confirmed a number. News 6 reported that workers have reportedly gone unpaid.

The company said customers with upcoming bookings or deposits would be refunded to their original form of payment, though it has not given a timeline, according to TheStreet, which reported that casino points and prepaid dining credits will likely be lost.

Regular passengers told News 6 they miss the outing. "It was something to do for a couple hours. Get something to eat, you know, lose some money," said Ken Gilsdorf, a Victory Casino Cruises customer, who said he had been considering another trip. "We were thinking about scheduling again for next year," he said.

A fixture of the Space Coast

Before the shutdown, the Victory I sailed twice daily, Tuesday through Sunday, on five-hour gaming cruises into international waters, offering more than 600 slot machines and table games, Florida Today reported. The company moved the vessel to Port Canaveral from Jacksonville in 2017.

Casino cruises like Victory's operate under a model that has long existed in Florida, where most casino gambling is restricted on land: ships carry passengers beyond state waters, where gaming can begin, and return the same day. For the port, the Victory I was a small but steady day-trip operation alongside the large multiday cruise ships that make Port Canaveral one of the world's busiest cruise ports.

What's next

The ship's future now runs through the federal court in South Carolina. Victory Casino Cruises can contest the claim or seek a hearing on the arrest, settle with the shipyard, or post security to free the vessel. If the company does not respond, the shipyard could seek a default judgment, and Detyens has asked that the gaming equipment be included in any court-ordered sale of the ship, Talk of Titusville reported. Until the dispute is resolved, Victory has said any restart will be announced on its website and Facebook page, and Port Canaveral says it has received no word on a return.