Follow-Up: Residential Cruise Ship Odyssey Arrested in Singapore Over About $500,000 Owed; No Passengers Aboard
The residential cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey was arrested under a Singapore court order after arriving in Singapore on November 8. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said the vessel is anchored at the Changi General Purpose Anchorage with no passengers aboard, that all crew members are well, and that crew welfare is being managed by the creditors.
According to the Supreme Court of Singapore's ship arrest list, the vessel was arrested on the morning of November 8, with Helmsman LLC acting as the arresting solicitor. Multiple outlets reported that the ship owes a supplier about US$500,000, believed to be for fuel. Founder Mikael Petterson told CBS News that creditors have taken over the ship's operation.
The arrest follows a turbulent stop in Cambodia: on October 27-28, all 203 guests were ordered off the ship at Sihanoukville in a dispute over fuel bills, and the vessel sailed from Cambodia on November 4 with crew only. Some coverage conflated the two episodes; the disembarkation happened in Cambodia, and no passengers were aboard when the ship was arrested in Singapore.
The ship's future is uncertain. Maritime lawyers note that a vessel under court arrest can be sold by judicial sale if its debts cannot be resolved.
Related: Follow-Up: Residential Cruise Ship Odyssey Leaves Cambodia's Sihanoukville With Crew Only
Source: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：住宅邮轮 MS Villa Vie Odyssey 本体（资料图）。JerickVillaruel 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons，本站档案图复用。 / Photo: The residential cruise ship MS Villa Vie Odyssey, file photo by JerickVillaruel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; GSM archive reuse.
