The Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies are looking into the death of a person aboard a Texas cruise ship.
“I can confirm FBI Houston is aware of an incident that occurred around July 23, 2025 on the Carnival Dream cruise ship,” a FBI spokesperson said. “An FBI maritime liaison agent, based out of the Texas City resident agency, is coordinating with the U.S. Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, and the cruise line regarding this incident. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, I am not able to provide any additional details at this time.”
Here’s what we know about the incident.
People are also reading: Boy, 12, falls to his death from balcony on Royal Caribbean cruise ship returning to Texas
Cruise ship is ‘disappointed’ about ‘spreading rumors’
The cruise ship passengers reportedly woke to the sound of sirens around 3 or 4 a.m. on July 23. One says she heard an announcement asking for medical aid at the Serenity Deck. Guests allegedly took to online forums to try to figure out what was happening, which prompted a response from Carnival Cruise Line.
“There is no investigation about a suspicious death on Carnival Dream and it’s disappointing to learn that any guests might be spreading rumors about something they know nothing about,” the cruise line stated.
Once the ship returned to Galveston, passengers said the offboarding process was delayed. Some reported seeing law enforcement officers boarding the ship.
Why is the FBI involved in the Carnival Dream death investigation?
The FBI is taking charge of investigating the Carnival Dream death for several reasons, including the fact that the incident occurred on the high seas. FBI Tampa Special Agent Matt Pagliarini, who investigates crimes on cruise ships from Cape Canaveral in Florida, explained that other factors determine which agency claims authority.
“It really depends,” Pagliarini said. “Do we have jurisdiction based on where the ship was? What was the next port of call? Was a U.S. citizen involved?”
Regardless of jurisdiction, cruise ship crimes also require the speedy processing of crime scenes, according to Los Angeles Special Agent Matt Parker.
“You have a short amount of time to do the best you can to solve this case or collect all the evidence you need to solve this case and then your crime scene leaves,” Parker said.
Further details of the death investigation, including the identity of the deceased, were not yet available as of Monday morning. It is also unclear whether the incident is being treated as a criminal case.
— KHOU 11 contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Carnival Dream cruise ship death: FBI investigates in Galveston