About 200 passengers who paid up to $440,000 to live at sea were told to leave the ship within hours, showing how global fuel shocks reach ordinary households.
A luxury cruise ship that set out to sail around the world for three and a half years has stopped its voyage, leaving its passengers to find hotels in the Cambodian port town of Sihanoukville.
The operator, Villa Vie Residences, a United States-based company, said it had suspended operations of the vessel, the Villa Vie Odyssey, because fuel had become too expensive to keep running. The Ghana Report carried the details of the suspension, which was announced on Tuesday.
The numbers behind the decision
The company said that in parts of Asia the monthly fuel cost per cabin had climbed from about $1,800 to as much as $8,000. That is more than four times the original cost.
Global fuel prices have risen sharply since the Iran war began earlier this year.
Villa Vie Residences said it had already tried to cut consumption by slowing the sailing schedule and keeping the ship in port for longer periods. Those steps were not enough. Charging residents the full increase, the company said, "is not a realistic solution".
It now plans to spend the next 60 days on restructuring and recapitalisation, but warned that "no outcome is assured".
Hours to pack up
Around 200 passengers were on board when they were told to disembark. The ship can carry up to 650 people and is nearly 200 metres long.
Two passengers, Lanette Canen and Johan Bodin, told the BBC that the company's chief executive informed them at 6am on Tuesday that they had to be off the ship by 2pm the same day.
They said residents had known about the firm's money troubles for a while. A possible investor had even boarded the ship to carry out checks, but no deal came. "We were heartbroken. It felt like our dream had been crushed," the couple said.
The couple also noted that Sihanoukville was a hard place to be dropped off, because the nearest major international airport is far away.
Another passenger, Holly Hennessey, said travellers had earlier been asked to consider paying a fuel surcharge and that the route had been cut back heavily. She is staying put in Cambodia in case the ship sails again. "Cambodia's not the worst place to hang out," she said.
A costly dream
The Odyssey left Belfast in Northern Ireland in October 2024 after months of repair delays that stranded passengers on land and cost the company millions. The planned route covered nearly 150 countries. The ship was more than 750 days into the trip when the suspension was announced.
Permanent residency in a cabin cost between $120,000 and $440,000, while cabins could also be rented from $3,500 a month. On board were bars, restaurants, a pool deck and a pickleball court.
For Ghanaians watching fuel prices at home and abroad, the case is a reminder of how quickly an energy shock can unravel even the most expensive plans.
