Around 200 passengers who paid to live on a cruise ship while travelling the world were abruptly left in a Cambodian port after the company ran out of money, an official said on Wednesday.
US-based operator Villa Vie Residences said it had “suspended operations in Cambodia”, citing an “extraordinary” rise in fuel costs since the Iran war began that had made its current operating model “extremely challenging”.
“Since the conflict began in late February, we have taken significant steps to reduce fuel consumption, including slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port,” the company said.
“Those measures have not been enough to offset the extraordinary increase in fuel costs, and we have been unable to continue carrying the resulting operating losses. Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution.
“Our focus now is on supporting residents, crew, and employees while we work toward restructuring and recapitalisation over the next 60 days. That work is ongoing, and no outcome is assured.”
A permanent home at sea
The Odyssey ship, which has capacity for 650 passengers, left Northern Ireland in October 2024 for a continuous voyage for which residents could buy or rent rooms for a holiday or for life – with some passengers selling everything they had to pay for it.
Its operator had offered to “make the Odyssey your permanent home”, with the purchase price of a suite for the lifetime of the vessel starting around $230,000 (€206,700).
However, passengers were given around seven hours to disembark during a scheduled stop in the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand, according to Long Dimanche, deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province.
He said that 203 guests and 156 crew had arrived aboard the Bahamas-flagged ship from Thailand on 23 October, and had been due to go on to Vietnam.
“The sudden order to disembark has left many retirees and remote workers homeless thousands of miles from their home countries,” he said.
Some passengers took flights out while others remained in the city, he said, adding that the ship itself was due to refuel and leave on 31 October.
‘Cascade of problems’
Randy Cassingham, a passenger on board who runs the ResidentialCruising.com blog, wrote in a post entitled “Abandon Ship!” that the disembarkation order followed a “cascade of problems”.
Speaking to AFP, he said it was not a “luxury” ship but affordable – until the company started “begging for money”.
Villa Vie said in its statement per-cabin monthly fuel expenses had gone from an average of $1,800 (€1,610) to an estimated $6,000 (€5,380) to $8,000 (€7,170) in parts of Asia.
“The company cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure,” it said.
Cassingham accused the company of doing “absolutely nothing to help” stranded passengers.
Villa Vie said it was “working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and identify temporary living arrangements”.
“Villa Vie Residences recognises that this is a difficult and disruptive period for residents, crew members, and employees, and is working to support those affected as plans develop,” it said.
Sihanoukville hosts another ship in crisis
Built in 1993 and operated under different names by several cruise lines over the years before being becalmed by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the Odyssey was bought by Villa Vie Residences in 2023.
Its current cruise, originally intended to last three-and-a-half years, began in October 2024 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the ship had been refitted.
The Odyssey is not the first cruise ship Sihanoukville has hosted in crisis. In February 2020, the MS Westerdam was allowed to dock in Cambodia after being turned away at five ports in other nations because of fears of COVID-19. It carried 1,455 passengers, more than 600 of whom were American citizens.
After the ship had been stranded at sea for two weeks, Cambodia’s then-prime minister Hun Sen allowed it to dock for what he said were humanitarian reasons. Cambodia won plaudits as passengers were welcomed ashore and arrangements were made for them to fly home.