The Department of Tourism had no concerns about the financial viability of Renaissance Cruises before it shut down and filed for bankruptcy this week, the department said yesterday.

Acting Tourism Minister Randolph Horton said the Department was aware that Renaissance had gone through re-financing earlier this year and installed a new management team.

Last week, Government revealed that it had reached agreement with Renaissance for a ship to sail to Dockyard and Hamilton next year.

But on Tuesday the company, which is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, announced it was closing down and filing for bankruptcy in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

In a statement yesterday, Mr. Horton said the Department of Tourism had checked on the financial viability of Renaissance before entering an agreement and had no concerns about the financial health of the company.

"The Ministry of Tourism was aware that Renaissance Cruises had successfully re-financed itself and installed a new management team, all of which was in place until the World Trade Center disaster and the subsequent de-stabilisation in tourism world-wide occurred, which has affected a broad range of companies around the world," he said.