A luxury cruise ship that had embarked on a years-long voyage around the world has been forced to suspend operations and leave its passengers stranded in Cambodia due to high fuel prices.
The ship, known as the MV Odyssey, was carrying 203 passengers, mostly Americans, as well as 156 crew members, Cambodian officials told The Associated Press. The ship has a capacity of 650 passengers.
The Florida-based operator of Villa Vie Odyssey, the company that operates the cruise line, said it was working with passengers on arranging “temporary living arrangements.” The cruise ship had started its journey from Belfast in October 2024 for what was described as a “continuous journey around the world”.
“Extraordinary increases in fuel costs have placed our current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure,” said a statement on the company’s website. “We are working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and temporary living arrangements, and are supporting residents, crew and employees as we evaluate restructuring and recapitalization alternatives over the next 60 days.”
The ship is now docked at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville in the Gulf of Thailand, with a departure date still uncertain.
Fuel prices across the world have surged since the start of the US war against Iran earlier this year. The ship’s operator said the monthly cost of fuel per cabin in parts of Asia had fallen from $1,800 to $8,000.
The Strait of Hormuz, which carries much of the world’s oil, has been effectively closed since February 28, the start of the war. Oil prices have climbed above $117 a barrel this month.
A resident of the ship, Randy Cassingham, wrote in a blog post that he only found out about the cruise itinerary’s cancellation after a company official posted a note on a ship forum Monday morning.
“Of course, this did not come out of nowhere: we were fully aware of the problems,” Cassingham wrote. “It was a cascade of problems piling on top of each other, from the business model to management mistakes to the aforementioned fuel cost and availability crisis, and much more.”
Pamela Reckamp, a 59-year-old resident of the ship, told NBC News that company officials aboard the ship held a meeting last month in which they asked cabin owners to help them raise $1 million so the ship could leave Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.
“She said, ‘If we don’t get this money, we’ll have about four days of ship operation,'” Reckamp said. “’Then the lights will turn off and the air conditioning will turn off.’”
Carol Larson, 69, lived on the ship for 18 months with her sister Crystal Lavering, 72, she told The Associated Press. Larson, a California native, expressed hope that the trip could still be salvaged because, she said, the decision to live at sea had improved her health.
Larson told the outlet she purchased her cabin for $120,000, paid in installments, with an additional monthly maintenance fee under a program that offered her the opportunity to live aboard the ship for up to 15 years.
Larson blamed Donald Trump for the ship’s problems and the suspension of the voyage as the war with Iran led to a significant increase in fuel costs. Despite the problems, Larson said she doesn’t regret her investment.
“Because it was a start-up, I think it was a risk,” she said. “From day one, I told myself that if it lasts a year, I can go back and feel like I got what I paid for… It’s always that feeling. I feel lucky to have experienced residential cruising.”
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