It has been reported that around 200 passengers have been left stranded on a cruise ship in a Cambodian port after the company ran out of funds.
This was after 200 passengers who had paid to live on a cruise ship, have been left stranded on this cruise ship, which had left Northern Ireland in October 2024 as it embarked on a continuous voyage where residents could buy or rent rooms for a holiday or for life. Some passengers had even sold everything they owned in order to pay for it.
Villa Vie Residences US based operator have announced that they had "suspended operations in Cambodia", as it sought to address "extraordinary increases" in fuel costs following the Iran war.
Releasing a statement, the deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk has said that passengers were given a matter of hours to pack their things and leave during a scheduled stop in the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville.
He explained that 203 guests and 156 crew had arrived aboard the Bahamas-flagged ship from Thailand on 23 October, which had been due to go to Vietnam.
The deputy governor said: "The sudden order to disembark has left many retirees and remote workers homeless thousands of miles from their home countries".
He added that some passengers have flown out of the city, while others have remained, and that the ship itself was due to refuel and leave on October 31.
Elsewhere, Villa Vie said in its statement that pre cabin month fuel expenses had increased from an average of $1,800 to an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 in parts of Asia.
Their statement read: "The company cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure".
In a post named, 'Abandon Ship', Mr Cassingham a passenger on board who runs a cruise blog, said that it was not a "luxury" ship but was affordable, until the company began "begging for money".
Mr Cassingham has also accused of doing "absolutely nothing to help" stranded passengers.
Villa Vie insisted that it was "working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and identify temporary living arrangements".
"Villa Vie Residences recognises that this is a difficult and disruptive period for residents, crew members, and employees, and is working to support those affected as plans develop", they added. (All quotes according to RTÉ).
