Crimes On Cruise Ships Almost Never Get Solved — The Legal Black Hole The Industry Hopes You Never

Every year, passengers vanish from cruise ships and almost nobody is ever held accountable.

The moment a crime happens in international waters, the legal jurisdiction becomes a nightmare that investigators, lawyers, and grieving families have been fighting for decades.

American law enforcement has no authority. Bahamian authorities have no resources.

The FBI has jurisdiction over crimes against American citizens at sea. What they do not have is the cooperation of cruise lines who are legally required to report crimes, but face almost no consequences when those reports are incomplete, delayed, or quietly buried.