MSC Cruise Ship Ordered Back to Texas with Report of Suspected Homicide
Florida-based MSC Cruises confirmed that its cruise ship MSC Seascape had been ordered to briefly return to its homeport late on Sunday night after reports of an incident aboard. The ship had departed Galveston Sunday afternoon on a week-long cruise to Mexico.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed that it was aboard the MSC Seascape investigating “a possible homicide.” It said the ship returned to its homeport of Galveston, Texas, early on Monday, November 9, and that the agency was working with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Port of Galveston Police Department, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the cruise line on the incident. Because it was an ongoing incident, it said no further details would be released.
Unconfirmed reports on social media suggested there had been some form of an altercation on the cruise ship on Sunday evening. Some reports are saying one of the passengers, possibly a female, hit her head. Some of the unconfirmed reports on social media said that they had seen someone being escorted off the cruise ship in Galveston in handcuffs.
The 170,412-gross ton cruise ship departed Galveston on Sunday afternoon but was ordered back to Galveston after reporting the incident. Reports say the ship had been underway for about six hours when it reversed course.
Built in 2022, the cruise ship has accommodations for 5,877 passengers and carries a crew of 1,648, according to MSC’s website. The ship is 1,060 feet (323 meters) in length with 15 passenger decks. Some of the online reports are saying one of the passenger decks with cabins had been cordoned off while investigators were aboard the ship.
MSC Cruises repositioned the cruise ship to Galveston in November 2025. It is based in Texas, year-round operating seven-day cruises to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico, and Isla de Roatan, Honduras.
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No additional details have been released, but the cruise ship was permitted to resume its cruise, sailing from Galveston just before noon local time on Monday. Passengers have been told that they would still make the scheduled ports of call, and the line apologized for the disruption. In a statement, MSC Cruises said its “thoughts were with the guest’s family and friends at this difficult time.”
FBI officials have said they are frequently called to cruise ships to handle a wide range of crimes. However, homicides are considered to be extremely rare despite the ships being the size of small towns. A year ago, a young woman was found deceased on a Carnival Cruise Line ship off Florida. A family member was arrested and charged with the murder.
