Marco Polo and Magellan were sold at auction in November after CMV’s collapse in July.

The BBC reports both are being broken up on a beach near Mumbai despite it being illegal to send them to developing countries for scrapping because of the possibility of the ships containing toxic materials such as asbestos.

Marco Polo was sold for around £2 million to offshore company High Seas Ltd. It was released from UK waters on condition it would be used for “further trading”, the BBC said, with the buyers saying it would become a floating hotel in Dubai.

However, it was sold for scrap two months later for around £4 million, with High Seas claiming the intended buyer refused to take delivery.

Magellan was destined to be used as a floating hotel in Liverpool for the 2021 Grand National after it was bought at auction by a Greek ship owner.

Brokers told the BBC it was sold on for scrap after no new buyer was found.