Passengers who booked trips on a luxury cruise along the Western Australian coast have been left in limbo after the company behind the tours went into administration. Kimberley Pearl Tours (KPT), which operates high-end cruises to remote parts of the pristine Kimberley coastline, is still advertising tours for the remainder of the year and 2027 on its website and social media, despite the insolvency.
Receivers were appointed to KPT in January after sole director Daniel Brown fell behind in repaying a loan he took out to help buy the business. Mr Brown took over the business in 2024. Liquidation is the legal process by which a business is shut down, often involving the sale of assets to generate cash to pay creditors and shareholders.
Passengers discover collapse by chance
Those who have booked paid large deposits. One traveller, Bob Shawyer, booked a trip last year and is now out of pocket AUD8,500 (around £4,460). "My wife and I didn't get a holiday we've been dreaming of," he said. He only discovered the trip was not proceeding after a chance search online.
Mr Shawyer received an email requesting payment for the remainder of his booking after he discovered it was in receivership. Another traveller, Ian Grant, told Australian news outlet ABC that he booked a private tour for a family trip. He discovered the company had gone into receivership before he received an invoice requesting AUD140,000 (over £73,500) for the remainder of the booking.
Invoices sent after receivers appointed
"We could have paid that thinking it was hunky-dory," Mr Grant said. The invoices were sent from the Kimberley Pearl email address a few months after receivers were appointed, ABC reports.
Mr Brown denied sending invoices after the receivers' appointment. He said he had lived and operated the business aboard the Kimberley Pearl, which was seized in February along with his personal belongings and the business' assets. "It was therefore the receivers' own refusal of access that placed the books and records beyond reach," Mr Brown said in a statement.
Director apologises, customers still waiting
Mr Brown said it was his "firm intention" to get the Kimberley Pearl back in the water and refund customers, and was "deeply sorry". "You trusted us with your holiday of a lifetime," he said.
Customers who paid deposits say they are no closer to getting their money back.
