A federal judge has ordered the sale of the SeaEscape Entertainment gaming vessel after its owner couldn't orchestrate a sale or line up financing that would have satisfied creditors' claims.

The SeaEscape vessel, known as the M/V Island Adventure, is scheduled to be sold at auction by the U.S. Marshals Service at noon Oct. 16 at the Broward County Courthouse.

Marshals seized the vessel Aug. 23 after a warrant was issued after some crew members claimed they had not been paid wages. SeaEscape operated out of Port Everglades for 21 years before ceasing sailings on Aug. 10, citing the faltering economy, competition from land-based casinos and costs.

A lawyer for the vessel's owner didn't respond to a request for comment. SeaEscape's website still says it will relocate to a new port ''in the next few weeks,'' a posting that first appeared after it ended operations at Port Everglades.

U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro on Sept. 18 initially denied a request by some crew members to schedule a sale of the vessel. She instead gave SeaEscape's owner, Cruise Charter Ltd. of the Bahamas, until Sept. 26 to charter, lease or sell the vessel -- provided the deal could pay existing claims and maintenance expenses.

But at a court hearing last week, Cruise Charter's representatives told Ungaro it hadn't worked out a deal. So the judge ordered the sale.

''The cost of keeping the vessel under arrest have become disproportionate to the vessel's value, which most recently was estimated at $3 million as part of a scrap sale and at between $1 million and $2 million as a gaming ship,'' Ungaro wrote in an order.

National Maritime Services of Fort Lauderdale, which is responsible for the vessel's safekeeping, estimated its monthly costs are about $550,000.

SeaEscape's creditors claim they are owed more than $2.3 million. They include about 145 crew members who say they are due about $500,000. Crew members, mostly foreign nationals, have been repatriated.

''Most likely, it's going to be scrap,'' said Ross B. Toyne, a lawyer for crew members seeking unpaid wages, said of the SeaEscape ship. ''The demand for these ships has diminished greatly.'' Plus, he said, the vessel would require expensive repairs and renovations if it were to sail again.

Judith Jarvis, a Cruise Charter lawyer, said in court papers last month that she had been working ''nearly around the clock'' to find a way to get the vessel released. She said she talked with parties from California to the Netherlands about financing.

Jarvis said her efforts to complete a deal were hindered by the inability of parties to tour the ship because of its seizure.

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