Dear MEL Topic Readers,
'Cruise for life' ship seized in Singapore
Villa Vie Odyssey is a 24,000-ton residential cruise ship that can host
over 900 passengers with 370 crew members. Her passengers could choose to
purchase cabin rights and make the ship their permanent home, or rent a cabin
for a short-term cruise. She left Belfast, Northern Ireland, on October 3, 2024,
for a 3.5-year residential-style cruise to visit 150 countries. As scheduled, she
had visited Europe, North-West Africa, the Americas, the South Pacific, and
East and South Asia before she docked at Sihanoukville, Cambodia, in late
October. However, because of the skyrocketing fuel costs caused by the Iran war,
the operating company suddenly suspended the cruise service and asked all the
residents/passengers to disembark. About 200 stranded passengers had to choose to
stay in Cambodia, move or travel to other places, or go home. The ship then went
to Singapore and was seized due to mounting financial claims and unpaid
maritime debts. Residents, passengers, and crew members all suffered from this
suddenly ceased voyage that would have continued for another year.
Read the article and learn what happened to this around-the-world residential
cruise.
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