Passenger’s ‘Suspicious Death’ Aboard Cruise Ship Being Investigated

Officials investigating a death that occurred during a cruise from the Bahamas to South Carolina said the incident was isolated and other passengers were not in danger.

When the FBI’s Evidence Response Team boarded the ship once it made port in America on Saturday, the team immediately began processing the woman’s cabin, the agency’s Columbia field office said, Newsweek reported Monday.

The mission of the Evidence Response Team is to provide evidence collection capabilities for crime scenes. The evidence gathered can be used in court cases in the United States or across the globe, the agency’s site read.

“The individual components of the team work together to ensure that a crime scene is completely and thoroughly investigated,” it continued.

When the crew onboard the Carnival Sunshine, which sails to the Bahamas from Charleston, learned of the unresponsive woman during the February 27 voyage, they worked to resuscitate her. However, those attempts failed and she was eventually pronounced dead.

Columbia field office spokesperson Kevin Wheeler said the FBI “investigates certain crimes on the high seas, as well as suspicious deaths of U.S. persons.”

According to the Carnival website, the safety and security of passengers is extremely important to the company, and “Our ships operate in full compliance with — and in many cases exceed — all U.S. and international safety regulations.”

The site also noted, “Any allegation of a serious crime committed aboard a Carnival ship sailing from North America is immediately reported to law enforcement in accordance with the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010.”

The  deceased woman and her husband reportedly disembarked in the Bahama’s capital, Nassau. It is there officials were investigating what happened and also performing an autopsy on the body.

A Carnival spokesperson told Newsweek the company was cooperating with officials conducting the investigation. However, the issue was in the hands of officials in the Bahamas and Charleston, therefore, the company did not have anything further to say on the matter.

The Newsweek report continued:

The FBI has jurisdiction to investigate potential crimes and suspicious deaths when the ship is U.S. owned, as the Carnival Sunshine is, and pertains to an American citizen, it has previously stated. It is also permitted to investigate if the ship is in U.S. waters, or if it was departing or arriving in an American port.

According to Wheeler, the investigation is ongoing, but he did not provide more details regarding the case.