STADT DUESSELDORF

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Owner has to hand over ship after Ebay auction

According to a preliminary assessment by the Higher Regional Court in Düesseldorf, the company “Weiße Flotte” has to hand over the 'Stadt Düsseldorf' to four innkeepers from Cologne. The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court announced a corresponding decision on March 21., 2023. They had bought the 53-year-old excursion boat at the end of August 2020 on the eBay auction platform. Because the owner did not hand over the ship, the innkeepers went to court and were right in the first instance. The Weiße Flotte had appealed against the verdict at the Higher Regional Court. The Cologne-based company had bid 75,050 Euros for the vessel and won the auction with this highest bid. The Higher Regional Court has now ruled that a legally valid purchase contract has been concluded with the award, thereby confirming the first-instance decision of the Regional Court. The Weiße Flotte as the previous owner, said that the ship was still mortgaged and should therefore not have been auctioned at all. In addition, other bidders would not have gotten a chance because of certain requirements on Ebay. But the higher regional court emphasized that the applicable auction specifications were known and fair. The Weiße Flotte now has until May 8 to comment. The company had hoped for significantly higher bids at the auction. The Cologne innkeepers want to use the excursion ship for gastronomic purposes. It is to be renamed 'Schang Jülich' after a deceased innkeeper.

Tour boat sold on ebay

The 'Stadt Düsseldorf' has been auctioned on ebay on Aug 29, 2020, for 75.050 Euro. 99 bidders had sent their offers within 10 days. The ship was subject of a general maintenance in 2017 for 100.000 Euro. Due to the corona pandemic the request for tours on the Rhine had decreased significantly, so that the ship was offered on ebay as the 'Düsselschlösschen' already some time ago. The ship is now owned by a group of four from Colonia.

Collision on the Rhine

On June 30, 2019, the "Stadt Düsseldorf" was in collision with a tank barge on the Rhine. No one was injured, but the ship had to be escorted to a quay for repairs. Several river sailings were cancelled. German report with photo: https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/duesseldorf/weisse-flotte-faehrt-vorerst-nicht-mehr-nach-kaiserswerth_aid-39767783