Arrested offered pensioners " permanent " life at sea cruise ship

A U.S.-operated cruise ship has been detained in Singapore that offered pensioners a "permanent" life at sea but instead unloaded them in Cambodia after it ran out of money due to skyrocketing fuel prices.

After more than 200 passengers were stranded in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville last month, the MV Odyssey ship departed for Singapore last week and was seized by authorities.

“The vessel was arrested in accordance with a court order,” the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority said in a statement. “It is reported that all is well with the crew on board and the ship’s creditors are taking measures to ensure their welfare. There are no passengers on board.”.

According to court records, MV Odyssey was declared “under arrest” off Singapore’s east coast on Sunday morning, meaning he was detained, but not necessarily on any criminal charges.

It is not yet clear why the vessel was confiscated, although Singapore is a global shipping hub, and it is not unusual for ships facing commercial challenges to move to the city-state to resolve disputes.

Local newspaper Straits Times reported that the Florida-based ship operator, Villa Vie Residences, owed about $500,000 for fuel. We have reached out to Villa Vie Residences for comment.

On October 27, just hours before, the company disembarked all passengers, saying that a sharp rise in fuel prices due to the war in Iran had made the airliner’s operations “unsustainable.” Mikael Petterson, founder and chief executive of Villa Vie Residences, later said the liner was now run by creditors.

Cambodian officials said the majority of MV Odyssey's passengers were American, as well as 156 crew members.

Passengers were offered what the company's website touted as a "new model of life on the high seas": the 195-meter-long vessel offered multi-year accommodation and a permanent cabin cost between $120,000 and $440,000. However, monthly fuel costs per cabin in parts of Asia rose from $1,800 to $8,000, the company said in a statement.

The round-the-world cruise has faced challenges since its inception, including a four-month delay in sailing from Belfast in Northern Ireland in October 2024. Several passengers reported signs of financial distress during the cruise, including guests raising extra money for fuel.

Randy Cassingham, a writer who lived aboard the ship, said that after the passengers were unloaded, residents also passed around the bank to raise $100 each for lower-ranking crew members. He said few passengers expect to get back any money spent on the cabin, as they know the company "had terrible money problems from the start.".