PREAH SIHANOUK, Oct 28 - Hundreds of people permanently living aboard a touring cruise ship were forced to disembark in Cambodia this week after the vessel’s operator said fuel price increases from the Iran war had made operations prohibitively expensive.
The Villa Vie Odyssey had been cruising the world for at least 755 days as one of only a handful of ships that offered passengers the opportunity to rent or buy long-term or even permanent residences on board.
Yesterday, the ship’s owner Villa Vie Residences announced it is suspending operations and disembarking those passengers in Cambodia while working to find them temporary accommodation.
Monthly fuel expenses that historically averaged about US$1,800 (around RM7,300) per cabin have recently reached an estimated US$6,000 to US$8,000 in parts of Asia, Villa Vie Residences said in a statement.
“The company cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure.”
Villa Vie Residences did not immediately respond to questions. The Odyssey can house 650 people but its rooms, including “villa suites” that cost US$440,000, are still filled. An inside villa on the vessel costs US$120,000.
There were 203 passengers and 156 crew members on the ship, said Long Dimanche, deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk Province.
Some passengers had already departed on flights, while others were waiting in the port city of Preah Sihanouk, he told media, adding that the ship is scheduled to refuel before leaving Cambodia on Saturday.
Social media videos by residents showed uncertainty and disappointment as they heard the news. Others said they would relish the extra time to explore Southeast Asia.
Randy Cassingham, who lived on the Odyssey with his wife and who writes about his lifestyle on ResidentialCruising.com, said Florida-based CEO Kathy Villaba posted a message shortly after 7am in Cambodia telling residents they had until 2pm to disembark and to coordinate with staff if they are unable to remove all their belongings in time.
It was not entirely surprising, he wrote in a post on his website.
“It was a cascade of problems piling up on one another, from the business model to mistakes by management to the mentioned crisis in fuel cost and availability, and more,” he said.
Since the Iran war began in late February, the company had taken steps to reduce fuel consumption, including slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port, but those measures were not enough to offset the “extraordinary” increase in fuel costs, Villa Vie’s statement said.
“We have been unable to continue carrying the resulting operating losses,” it added. The company would seek to restructure and recapitalise over the next 60 days, though no financing has been decided.
