Villa Vie Odyssey seized after cruise ship company leaves passengers stranded
One Aussie passenger spent $200,000 on a 15-year lease before she was told to leave the vessel.
Authorities have seized a residential cruise ship that left more than 200 passengers stranded in Cambodia.
The Villa Vie Odyssey arrived with a skeleton crew in Singapore this week under control of its lender, and was impounded after its owners said fuel prices made it too expensive to operate.
“The vessel has been placed under arrest pursuant to a court order,” Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority said in a statement.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“The crew onboard are reported to be well, and arrangements for their welfare and wellbeing are being managed by the vessel’s creditors. There are no passengers on board.”
It did not elaborate on why exactly the ship had been arrested.
Mikael Petterson, the founder and executive chairman of owner Villa Vie Residences, told CBS News the ship was now being operated by creditors.
Florida-based Villa Vie Residences suspended operations and forced passengers off the ship at the Cambodian port town of Sihanoukville, saying fuel price increases from the Iran war had made operations prohibitively expensive.
The vessel was one of only a handful that offered passengers the opportunity to rent or buy long-term or even permanent residences on board.
Many had paid tens of thousands of dollars to live on board for years.
Aussie customers in limbo
One retiring passenger planning to live on board for the rest of her life, poured her life savings into the venture, and was devastated to learn her retirement plans had been destroyed.
Australian customers have similarly been thrown into uncertainty by the cruise ship company.
Brisbane woman Rina Cavazza, and Melbourne retiree Frances Paroissien were both living aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey when they were told to leave in Cambodia.
Paroissien, 78, had already lost $85,000 on the cancelled Life at Sea venture before buying a cabin for over $200,000 on the Odyssey under a 15-year lease. She had spent just 25 months aboard.
With no home to return to in Melbourne, Paroissien has leased an apartment in Thailand for six months.
“I’m not going home because I don’t have a home to go to,” she said.
The Odyssey has capacity for 650 passengers, but was carrying 203 passengers and 156 crew when it arrived in Sihanoukville on October 23, according to Cambodian officials.
Passengers were given just seven hours to pack up their lives and leave the ship, with many scrambling to make urgent arrangements for accommodation and travel.
The vessel remained in Cambodia until it departed for Singapore under the control of its lender on November 3, with only a skeleton crew and residents’ belongings on board.
Those who weren’t able to return to Cambodia were relying on fellow passengers or crew members to collect and store their possessions, with one group arranging a rented house for people to leave their bags for a month.
