Odyssey cruise halts in Cambodia over fuel costs

Villa Vie Residences, a Florida-based company, halted operations of its residential cruise ship The Odyssey in Cambodia on Tuesday. The vessel is currently docked in Sihanoukville. The company told passengers to disembark because rising fuel costs outpaced the savings from efficiency measures.

The Odyssey is a 642-foot ship that departed Belfast, Northern Ireland, three years ago. It holds 650 residents. A Cambodian official reported that 203 passengers and 156 crew members were aboard as of Wednesday. Long Dimanche, the vice governor of Preah Sihanouk province, said some passengers already flew out. Others waited in the port city. The ship plans to refuel before leaving Cambodia on Saturday.

Fuel prices spiked globally after the war with Iran began earlier this year. The conflict disrupted global fuel flows. Oil prices hit their highest levels in months in recent days. Villa Vie Residences stated that shifting the entire cost increase to residents was not realistic. The company said it is supporting residents, crew, and employees while moving toward a restructuring and recapitalization over the next 60 days.

Mikael Petterson, an executive at the company, declined to provide more details in an email to NBC News. In a statement earlier this year, Petterson noted that The Odyssey was 85% sold. The company offered cabins for sale or rent. Prices started at $119,000 for some units. One company bought a cabin for $469,000. That buyer sued the company last year for fraud. The lawsuit alleged the company misrepresented its financial stability. The company denied the claims. The case is still pending.

Randy Cassingham, a resident and the owner of ResidentialCruising.com, learned of the end of the voyage on Monday. A company official posted a notice on a ship message board shortly after 7 a.m. The note announced a temporary mooring. It required all passengers to leave the ship before 2 p.m. Cassingham described the situation as a cascade of problems. He plans to detail those issues later.

Pamela Reckamp, 59, rented a cabin with her husband and disembarked this month. She recalled an early September meeting where a company official asked cabin owners to raise $1 million. The money was needed to leave Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. The official warned that the ship had only four days of operational capacity left. She said the lights and air conditioning would turn off if the funds were not raised.

Reckamp attended another meeting a few weeks later. Financial problems were discussed. A woman who bought a cabin in August stood up and said she was not informed of the difficulties. She stated that she sold her house and car to buy her home on the ship. Reckamp said she felt sorry for the residents and staff. She added that she and her husband escaped with little more than a close call.