The key facts

  • The Odyssey liner was arrested in Singapore by a court order at the request of creditors
  • About 200 passengers went ashore in Sihanoukville in October after the operator suspended operations
  • According to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, the crew is fine, and the creditors are dealing with their issues

The vessel has been arrested at the creditors' request

The cruise ship Odyssey, which was on an 'endless round-the-world cruise', has been arrested in Singapore by a court order at the request of creditors. This was reported by the local newspaper The Straits Times. 'The vessel was placed under arrest pursuant to a court order', the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said. According to the authority, the crew is fine and their issues are being handled by the creditors; the law firm Helmsman LLC of Singapore is acting as counsel in the arrest case, but it is not specified which party it represents. The liner, which left Belfast in October 2024, is anchored in Singapore's port waters.

How the 'eternal cruise' ended in arrest

The ship was supposed to make a three-year voyage across 150 countries. Passengers were offered the option to buy a cabin as their own property, pay for five years of residence, or take a short cruise: permanent residence cost from $120,000 to $440,000, and renting from $3,500 per month. 'For roughly the price of a car, you can own a home on a ship that travels the world,' the project's founder Mikael Petterson advertised.

Troubles began long before the arrest

The voyage was beset with difficulties from the very start: departure was delayed by four months due to repairs and paperwork. In Vietnam, the crew bought food in local stores because the company owed money to a supplier. In August, the operator Villa Vie Residences warned passengers of financial difficulties and collected money from them to continue the cruise; the passengers even wanted to buy out the ship, but could not. In October, about 200 people were forced to leave the ship at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville after the operator suddenly suspended operations, citing 'an extraordinary rise in fuel prices'. Thus, the arrest in Singapore was not a sudden event but another stage in the project's protracted financial crisis, which had been reported for several months.