  We investigate the cosmological implications of a phantom dark energy model
with bulk viscosity. We explore this model as a possible way to resolve the big
rip singularity problem that plagues the phantom models. We use the latest type
Ia supernova and Hubble parameter data to constrain the model parameters and
find that the data favor a significant bulk viscosity over a non-constant
potential term for the phantom field. We perform a dynamical analysis of the
model and show that the only stable and physical attractor corresponds to a
phantom-dominated era with a total equation of state that can be greater than
$-1$ due to the viscosity. We also study the general effect of viscosity on the
phantom field and the late time evolution of the universe. We apply the
statefinder diagnostic to the model and find that it approaches a nearby fixed
point asymptotically, indicating that the universe can escape the big rip
singularity with the presence of bulk viscosity. We conclude that bulk
viscosity can play an important role in affecting the late-time behavior as
well as alleviating the singularity problem of the phantom universe.
