Multiple sources, including The Daily News (Galveston’s local newspaper) and DailyMail report that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating an alleged homicide aboard MSC Seascape sailing from Galveston.
According to the ship’s planned schedule, Seascape departed the island on Sunday afternoon. The Daily News says that after traveling about 100 miles, the ship returned to Galveston on Monday morning, arriving back at port at approximately 5:30 a.m.
“On reporting a guest incident aboard our ship, we were instructed by the authorities to return to the Port of Galveston,” an MSC Cruises spokesperson said in a reported statement. “We are cooperating fully with the investigation and providing support to those impacted.”
The FBI later confirmed to the news agency that it is investigating a suspected homicide aboard the ship.
Meanwhile, DailyMail confirms that authorities arrested a man, and published photos of a person being detained from the ship. The person can be seen being led away in handcuffs. However, the details behind the incident — including the identities of those involved — have not officially been released.
According to the news site, “passengers on the ship said a man allegedly killed his partner during an argument in the 10th deck of the massive cruise ship.”
While these details haven’t been verified, DailyMail does report that the Galveston County Medical Examiner confirmed the victim was a woman.
Tyler, Texas news station KLTV says that the suspect is a 48-year-old man from the East Texas area. Tyler is a roughly four-hour drive from Galveston.
After returning to Galveston, the ship then departed port later that day to continue the cruise. The current trip is slated to visit Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel on a seven-day cruise. It’s not known if the itinerary will be adjusted due to the incident and subsequent return to port.
Homicides on a cruise ship are rare. Since the start of 2025, there has been a single other incident reported, according to FBI data. The law enforcement agency is responsible for investigating major crimes occurring on crime ships sailing from the United States. Quarterly details on cruise ship crimes are published on the U.S. Department of Transportation website.
