A round-the-world cruise that left passengers stranded in Cambodia after its US-based operator ran out of money has been seized in Singapore.
The Odyssey, which set off from Belfast in October 2024 and was meant to take guests on a years-long voyage around the world, is now anchored in Singapore port waters, local authorities say.
Around 200 guests were forced to leave the ship last month in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville, after its owner Villa Vie Residences abruptly suspended operations citing “extraordinary increases in fuel costs”.
Singapore’s port authority said the crew onboard are reported to be well.
“Arrangements for their welfare and wellbeing are being managed by the vessel’s creditors,” the authority said, adding that the vessel had been “placed under arrest pursuant to a court order”.
Singapore law firm Helmsman LLC has been named the “arresting solicitor”, but it is not clear which party it represents.
The Odyssey was meant to go on a three-and-a-half-year voyage covering 150 countries.
Passengers could buy their cabin outright, allowing them to stay onboard beyond the initial voyage by paying for a five-year residency, or rent a cabin for day-long tours.
Permanent residencies in its cabins ranged from $120,000 (£89,272) to $440,000. The website also listed those cabins for rent from $3,500 a month.
“For roughly the price of a car, you can own your home on a ship that travels the world,” its founder, Mikael Petterson, had said earlier.
However the cruise was beset with problems from the start, with its departure delayed for four months because of repairs and paperwork.
While in Vietnam, crew members reportedly bought food from local grocery stores because the company owed money to a vendor that refused to deliver food, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
CBS also reported that the operator warned passengers of its financial troubles in August, when it sailed into Singapore on a separate occasion and had to raise money from guests to keep the cruise going.
It had also mentioned the risk of being detained then.
Holly Hennessey, one of the ship’s passengers, had earlier told the BBC guests were asked to consider paying a fuel surcharge as prices soared, and that their itinerary had been “severely curtailed”.
The vessel sailed into Singapore again earlier this month, weeks after the cruise came to a sudden end in Cambodia.
As the Iran war sent fuel prices soaring earlier this year, monthly fuel costs per cabin in parts of Asia rose from $1,800 to as much as $8,000, Villa Vie Residences said in a statement on 27 October.
It added that it had taken “significant steps to reduce fuel consumption”, but those measures turned out to be insufficient to offset the “extraordinary increase in fuel costs”.
The company also said it was working with residents to “identify temporary living arrangements” while in Cambodia.