The cruise ship Odyssey, whose operator had earlier cut short a round-the-world voyage and disembarked around 200 passengers in Cambodia, has been arrested in Singapore by court order. This was reported by CBS News, citing court documents.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore confirmed the arrest of the vessel. According to the authority, the crew are in satisfactory condition, and the creditors have taken responsibility for providing for them. There are no passengers on board, and the liner is anchored in Singapore port waters.
The vessel is currently under the control of a creditor. The owner, Villa Vie Residences, was unable to meet its payment obligations. The arrest proceedings are being handled by the law firm Helmsman LLC, although it is not known whom exactly it represents.
According to CBS News, Villa Vie owes one of its suppliers in the region about $500 thousand. However, the broadcaster was unable to establish whether this debt is connected with the arrest.
The operator's financial problems began to affect passengers even before the cruise was halted. The food on board deteriorated, the number of excursions was reduced, and travellers collected money to keep the voyage going. In August, when the Odyssey was in Singapore, passengers were told that the company was short of funds. Some of them contributed their own money so that the liner could continue its route.
On 27 October, the operator announced the suspension of the cruise in the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville. Around 200 passengers (some of whom had lived on board for more than two years) had to leave the ship on the same day.
Villa Vie Residences attributed the suspension to a sharp rise in fuel prices. According to the company, monthly costs per cabin in some parts of Asia rose from $1.8 thousand to $6–8 thousand. The operator said it could not pass the additional costs on to passengers.
