A Clia spokesperson confirmed to TTG Tradewind’s membership ended at the end of 2021. The line, though, was still displaying the logo as of 1pm Thursday (29 September).
The spokesperson said Tradewind, which is currently involved in a dispute with former staff over unpaid salary, was being contacted to remove the logo. TTG has approached Tradewind owner Brodosplit and parent DIV Group for comment.
The news followed pleas from ex-Tradewind staff to the company’s Croatian owners to pay them the thousands of pounds they say they are owed in unpaid wages.
Around 20 staff at the Suffolk-based cruise operator are believed to have been impacted, a number of whom claim not to have been paid for several months.
Speaking to TTG, staff described the "heartbreak" they’ve felt having to drain their savings and appeal to friends and family for help to keep going.
Earlier this year, Brodosplit and DIV Group were forced to refinance after EU sanctions were placed on the firm’s Russia-based major lender following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Tradewind has since cancelled all cruises until October 2023.
A Brodosplit spokesperson told TTG: "While the DIV Group was the owner of Tradewind Voyages until November 2021, all obligations towards the employees were properly fulfilled and all employees were paid."
The spokesperson later added: "The DIV Group was the owner [of Tradewind Voyages] until 8 November 2021, and from then until 16 May 2022, the owner was Tradewind Voyages Holding B.V, a company that is not part of the DIV Group. which means that more than seven months Tradewind Voyages was managed by another company and had an obligation to the employees. Ownership was taken over by DIV Group again in May 2022."
