Odyssey cruise ship stranded in Cambodia faces auction after buyout bid fails

How the voyage came to a halt

The Odyssey, run by Villa Vie Residences, was meant to sail for three years across all seven continents, a trip scheduled to last until the end of 2027. The ship stopped in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, in late October, when the operator said it could no longer pay for fuel. The company blamed extraordinary fuel costs linked to the war with Iran and said it was working to restructure and recapitalise over the following 60 days. According to the company, monthly fuel spending per cabin in parts of Asia had risen from about 1,800 US dollars to an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 dollars. Cambodian authorities counted 203 residents on board when the ship reached port, while the New York Times put the number of passengers at around 200. Residents who had paid between 119,999 and 439,999 dollars for their cabins were given only eight hours to pack and leave.

Passengers question the finances

Passengers say the trouble started well before the fuel spike. Paul Montoya, a member of the seven-person Residents' Council, said the operator first asked for a fuel loan in April, and many residents contributed on the understanding that they would be repaid with interest. Barbara Figiel, who had lived aboard for around a year and a half, said the internet and then the food deteriorated before the ship stopped, and that guests were repeatedly asked to pay extra. A Bloomberg Opinion column argued that the ship's financial troubles predated the war in Iran, even though headlines had blamed rising fuel prices. The repeated requests for more money left many residents asking how much more they could afford to spend to keep the voyage going.

The failed buyout

Residents made a final attempt to buy the ship in the last days of October. Montoya described the Thursday bid, 29 October, as the group's last desperate effort. On Saturday, 31 October, a resident-backed group called Sagar Capital told passengers in a letter that the attempt had failed after two months of negotiations that produced no agreement. Business Insider, which analysed the letter and spoke to three residents who confirmed its contents, reported that the group cited an inability to reach a deal with the ship's creditor, higher debts at Villa Vie than anticipated, legal exposure, bankruptcy costs and financial risk to residents' savings. According to the letter, 169 of the 203 residents had committed to contribute, but the amount promised fell short. Montoya said the group had come close to its sales target, though no money had been collected from residents.

On board at arrival203

Pledged to contribute169

On board at arrival

203 residents

Pledged to contribute

169 residents

Data from the article text

Auction, unpaid crew and what comes next

The lender and the ship-management team from the Columbia Group are now preparing to take control of the vessel and plan to sell it at auction, the New York Times reported on Monday, 2 November. Villa Vie's founder, Mikael Petterson, told the newspaper by text message that the company still technically holds the ship, while the bank starts a process to secure its collateral.

“We hope to have a restructure completed much sooner.”

NBC News, speaking to workers and residents, reported that about 150 crew members had gone more than a month without wages, following earlier payment delays. One crew member from India said payments had been arriving late for three months and that he had received nothing since September. He said he wanted to go home and described himself as mentally exhausted. American resident Tom Carter said the crew had no money to travel home, and residents set up a donation box to raise funds for them. The reporting does not give a date for the sale.