Residents of the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship, which remains stuck in Cambodia after its ‘never-ending voyage’ came to an abrupt halt in Sihanoukville, have been informed that the lender has taken control of the cruise ship, according to a message sent to residents.
“The lender has taken possession of the ship, but that does not mean the Odyssey’s future has been decided,” the letter to residents read.
“No sale has been scheduled. We believe there is time to bring forward a viable plan and are working to do that.”
Sources state the ship will soon set sail to Singapore, where it could eventually be auctioned off.
Mike Petterson, the company’s founder and executive chairman, said, “This is a 30- to 90-day process, and, during that process, we have time to get a restructure done”; however, the company remains optimistic that a solution can be found.
At the weekend, the lender took over the ship’s operational costs, and passengers were told to remove all their belongings from the ship before it became inaccessible.
“They now have the responsibility to pay the crew, fuel and the operations of the vessel and safekeeping of the vessel,” Petterson said.
“They would be willing to work with a funded plan; they’re not out of negotiations, it’s not like you get your car repossessed and you can’t get it back.”
A group of residents attempted to buy the ship from the company after a lender denied them funding, according to sources who spoke with CBS News.
The effort had received pledges from 169 residents who were willing to put more money into the project.
However, some residents have now accepted that the situation is irretrievable and moved to alternative accommodation in Cambodia.
CBS News spoke to Joel Greiff from Florida, who spent $350,000 on a cabin, but spent just 26 days on the ship after embarking in October.
Greiff has now found a place to live in Kampot and said, “I went and found a place to stay for $200 a month. Beautiful place,” he added. “It’s right on the river. It’s what I wanted and what I needed.”
Greiff said he has come to terms with the fact that he may never see the money he invested in the ship again.
“I do not feel ill will; I just feel that they don’t know how to run a business whatsoever,” he said. “They might want to contemplate never running a business again.”
The Odyssey, a 24,344-gross-tonne vessel with eight decks and capacity for up to 650 residents, was marketed as a way to live at sea while circling the globe, with calls at more than 425 destinations in 147 countries and over 100 islands.
It left Belfast on October 3, 2024, to begin what the company called a continuous world voyage.
As recently as October 20, its published schedule still promoted a 3.5-year itinerary confirmed through to November next year, with a preliminary second circumnavigation running to August 2030.
That plan included a stay in Cambodia with stops in Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Seychelles, Madagascar and Africa.
