PORTLAND – The new owner of the international cruise ferry Scotia Prince has filed a $1.2 million counterclaim to a lawsuit brought last month in U.S. District Court by three former crew members who say they were forced out of their jobs.

Matthew C. Hudson accuses the former captain and two officers of neglecting the vessel and purchasing from companies in which they have a financial interest.

Hartmut Rathje, the ship’s captain for 18 years, engineering officer Kenth Persson and chief engineer Rolf Sjostrom deny Hudson’s allegations. The former crewmen had sought about $100,000 in combined severance pay and vacation time, saying they were forced out of the company when Hudson reassigned their duties to an outside contractor.

Hudson, who maintains that the three left voluntarily, said the ship will need $1.2 million worth of work as a result of their negligence.

The 475-foot Scotia Prince carries some 170,000 passengers a year between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Hudson has pledged to more aggressively market the vessel as a cruise experience and wants to put it to work in Florida this winter.

In another management change, The Portland-based company announced Tuesday that longtime President Henk Pols is stepping aside as its top executive. Pols’ title will change July 1 to president emeritus, a position that keeps him on the board of directors but with no administrative role.