They sold a dream: a floating home, a years-long voyage, 150 countries, and the chance to own your cabin “for roughly the price of a car.” Instead, the passengers of the Odyssey got a months-long delay, a food supplier who refused to deliver, a company that ran out of money, and a ship now under arrest in Singapore.
The vessel, which set off from Belfast in October 2024, was supposed to carry guests on a three-and-a-half-year journey around the globe. On Tuesday, it sat anchored in Singapore port waters, seized pursuant to a court order, with its crew still aboard and their welfare being managed by the ship’s creditors.
Around 200 guests had already been forced off the ship last month in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville, after the operator, US-based Villa Vie Residences, abruptly suspended operations, citing “extraordinary increases in fuel costs.”
A Dream Deferred, Then Derailed
The Odyssey was never short of ambition. Passengers could buy their cabin outright, pay for a five-year residency, or rent for shorter tours. Permanent residencies ranged from $120,000 to $440,000, with rentals from $3,500 a month, according to its website.
“For roughly the price of a car, you can own your home on a ship that travels the world,” founder Mikael Petterson had said.
Reality intervened almost immediately. The departure was delayed four months by repairs and paperwork.
In Vietnam, crew members reportedly bought food from local grocery stores because the company owed money to a vendor who refused to deliver supplies, according to CBS News, the BBC’s partner in the US.
By August, the operator had warned passengers of its financial troubles when the ship sailed into Singapore on a separate occasion, and had to raise money from guests to keep the cruise going. It mentioned even then the risk of being detained.
What the Passengers Were Told
Holly Hennessey, one of the ship’s passengers, told the BBC earlier that guests had been asked to consider paying a fuel surcharge as prices soared, and that their itinerary had been “severely curtailed.”
The vessel sailed back into Singapore earlier this month, weeks after the cruise came to a sudden end in Cambodia.
In a statement on October 27, Villa Vie Residences said monthly fuel costs per cabin in parts of Asia had risen to as much as $8,000 from $1,800 as the Iran war drove fuel prices up earlier this year.
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The company said it had taken “significant steps to reduce fuel consumption,” but that these were insufficient to offset the “extraordinary increase in fuel costs.” It added that it was working with residents to “identify temporary living arrangements” while in Cambodia.
The Ship Under Arrest
Singapore’s port authority said the crew onboard are reported to be well, and that arrangements for their welfare are being managed by the vessel’s creditors.
The authority confirmed the ship had been “placed under arrest pursuant to a court order.” Singapore law firm Helmsman LLC has been named the “arresting solicitor,” though it is not clear which party it represents.
For the passengers who bought into the promise of a lifetime at sea, the Odyssey is now a case study in what happens when the dream outruns the money to fuel it.