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Cruise ship leaves Cambodia after forcing hundreds of passengers off

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The residential vessel departed Sihanoukville carrying only crew members after offloading more than 200 long-term residents. Approximately 100 passengers chose to remain in Cambodia while others boarded flights to neighboring destinations across the region. Passengers packed their belongings without receiving formal notice on whether the journey would ever resume, leaving many convinced their voyage was permanently over.

Key points

  • Rising fuel costs tied to the Iran war forced the operator to abandon its ongoing residen…: Rising fuel costs tied to the Iran war forced the operator to abandon its ongoing residential voyage.
  • Stranded travelers were left without direct company communications and had to rely entire…: Stranded travelers were left without direct company communications and had to rely entirely on local Cambodian officials.
  • Maritime tracking websites and passengers suggested the empty ship set sail toward Singap…: Maritime tracking websites and passengers suggested the empty ship set sail toward Singapore following the mass disembarkation.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Last week, the vessel's owner suspended operations, saying fuel prices increases from the Iran war had made operations prohibitively expensive.

SIHANOUKVILLE: After disembarking more than 200 passengers who had paid tens of thousands of dollars to live on board for years, the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship departed Cambodia early on Wednesday (Nov 4).

Last week, the vessel's owner, Florida-based Villa Vie Residences, suspended operations and forced passengers off the ship at the port town of Sihanoukville, saying fuel price increases from the Iran war had made operations prohibitively expensive.

The ship left with no passengers and around 50 crew, according to Taing Sochitkrishna, head of the Sihanoukville tourism department. He said about 100 passengers remained in Cambodia, while the others largely flew to other destinations in the region.

Passengers unloaded their last belongings from the vessel on Tuesday, and many said they did not expect to return to the ship.

"There are still many things on the ship that I wish I could take with me," said Shirine Thomas, of Wilmington, North Carolina, shortly after collecting some final items.

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