TEXAS -- The FBI says it is investigating a reported homicide on a cruise ship that returned to port after leaving Galveston, Texas on Monday. The U.S. agency said in a brief post on X that its Texas City office is responding to the reported incident aboard the MSC Seascape. The ship docked in Galveston sometime earlier in the day. The FBI said a maritime liaison agent is now working with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Port of Galveston Police Department, Customs and Border Patrol, and the cruise line. Further details were not made available immediately. The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Jason Leon Watford is the suspect arrested in the MSC Seascape homicide investigation. Jail records show he is in custody on a federal hold. The MSC Seascape has since resumed its voyage and left Galveston as of Monday afternoon. MSC Cruises released the following statement to CBS News Texas. “On reporting a guest incident aboard our ship, we were instructed by the authorities to return to the Port of Galveston. We are cooperating fully with the investigation and providing support to those impacted. The ship has left the port and resumed its planned itinerary. As this is an active investigation, we cannot provide more details. Our thoughts are with the guest’s family and friends at this difficult time." How can the FBI investigate crimes on cruise ships? According to the FBI, the agency can investigate crimes on cruise ships or other vessels within the territorial waters of the United States, depending on several factors. The location of the vessel, nationalities of the perpetrator or victim, who owns the vessel, where it embarks and debarks, and in which country the vessel is flagged determine if the FBI has that authority. The FBI notes it is empowered to investigate reports involving assaults with serious bodily injury, murder or attempted murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, robbery, or starting fires on vessels. Who is MSC? MSC is a global cruise line founded in Naples, Italy, in 1988. The privately held company is the world’s third-largest cruise line, operating 23 ships as of publication. Roughly half of the ships are flagged in Panama, while the other half are flagged in Malta. The Seascape is among those flagged in Malta. The cruise line’s website notes that the MSC Seascape can carry more than 5,800 passengers and roughly 1,600 crew members. The ship’s current itineraries are Caribbean cruises.
