A US-operated cruise ship marketed as a permanent home at sea has suspended its three-year global voyage in Cambodia after soaring fuel costs made it financially unsustainable to continue, leaving more than 200 passengers without a confirmed departure date.
The MV Odyssey is currently docked at the port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand.
The ship, operated by Florida-based Villa Vie Residences, set sail about two years ago on a journey covering all seven continents, offering passengers the opportunity to combine long-term living aboard the vessel with travel around the world.
According to Cambodian officials, the ship was carrying 203 passengers, most of them Americans, and 156 crew members when the voyage was suspended. The vessel has a capacity of 650 passengers.
Villa Vie Residences said fuel expenses that had historically averaged around $1,800 per cabin each month have risen to an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 in parts of Asia, largely because of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The war has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy supplies, contributing to tighter fuel availability and higher prices in parts of Southeast Asia.
The company said it had attempted to limit expenses by slowing the ship’s itinerary and spending longer periods in port to reduce fuel consumption. However, those measures were insufficient to offset the increase in operating costs.
“We have been unable to continue carrying the resulting operating losses,” the company said in a statement issued Tuesday. “Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution.”
Villa Vie Residences said its immediate priority was to support passengers, crew members and employees while exploring options to restructure its operations.
“The company is working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and identify temporary living arrangements,” it added.
The suspension has raised questions about the arrangements available to passengers who had committed to an extended period of life aboard the ship. The company had marketed the vessel as a floating residence, advertising the possibility of making it a permanent home. The purchase price for a suite for the lifetime of the vessel started at about $230,000.
Randy Cassingham, a blogger who has been traveling aboard the ship, offered a less reassuring account of the assistance provided to passengers. In an online post, he said the company has done nothing to help those affected and described difficulties leaving the port area.
“We couldn’t even walk out of the port, so there were shuttle buses that dropped us in the middle of town, Sihanoukville, Cambodia,” Cassingham wrote.
The strategic Strait of Hormuz — a vital route for roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments — has remained effectively closed by Iran since early March, days after the unprovoked US-Israeli war began on February 28.
The Islamic Republic warned it could target vessels of aggressors or those of their allies crossing the waterway in response to US-Israeli strikes.
The shutdown has caused severe disruptions to global energy flows and triggered sharp price volatility.
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