My Counterterrorism Magazine Piece On Cruise Ship Crime

Counterterrorism magazine published my piece on crime aboard cruise ships. 

You can read the piece via the below pages or the below text:

"You’re safer from crime on a cruise ship than you are on the streets of any city,” noted Mark Tartaglia, a retired Philadelphia police detective who travels on cruise ships often with his wife and friends. “But of course crimes do occur on cruise ships, like anywhere else. That’s why it is good to travel in a group.”

While cruises promise relaxation and escape, the unfortunate reality is that serious crimes can and do happen on the high seas, the FBI stated in a public release.

“The FBI, alongside its partners, works to ensure the safety of the millions of Americans traveling aboard cruise ships every year.”

According to the FBI, cruise ship criminal jurisdiction is complicated, and keeping U.S. passengers safe at sea presents unique challenges. Because cruise ships are registered in one country but travel through international waters, and also carry crew and passengers from many countries, when a crime occurs, more than one country may want to investigate– which raises critical questions, the FBI stated.

"It really depends," said FBI Tampa Special Agent Mat Pagliarini, who investigates cruise ship crime out of Florida’s Cape Canaveral. "Do we have jurisdiction based on where the ship was? What was the next port of call? Was a U.S. citizen involved?"

The FBI said passengers can help protect themselves by staying vigilant, being aware of their surroundings, securing their belongings, and promptly reporting any suspicious activity or incidents to ship security.

Pagliarini explained that typically cruise ships have their own security personnel on board. Cruise line security personal act as first responders, ensuring safety for passengers until they can hand the incident over to law enforcement.

When a crime is reported and meets one of the eight mandated reportable incidents, ship security officers connect with their U.S. shoreside-security counterparts who pass the report along to the FBI to determine jurisdiction and next steps.

In addition to reporting the incident to a cruise ship security officer as soon as possible, you can also report the incident to the FBI directly. Pagliarini stressed the importance of immediate reporting by victims and witnesses, especially considering the complexities of investigating crimes at sea.

"We get that a lot, or somebody has something stolen, and they don't know until they got home and then report it," said Pagliarini. "This delay complicates investigations, especially when victims are far from the location of the incident."

Pagliarini suggest passengers avoid taking valuable jewelry—as it's easy to lose or have stolen—be responsible when drinking and go directly through the cruise line company when booking excursions.

Below are some of the more notable cruise ship crimes:

In August. 28th, Arvin Joseph Mirasol, a citizen of the Philippines, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Melissa Damian in Miami to 30 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to producing child pornography.  

According to the Justice Department, on February 25th, a guest aboard the Symphony of the Seas cruise ship, which is owned by Royal Caribbean Group, discovered a hidden camera affixed to the counter under the sink in the guest’s bathroom. The guest reported the camera to ship security.

“Mirasol, a stateroom attendant who serviced passenger cabins, was detained until the cruise ship docked at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Once the ship docked, on March 3, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel boarded the ship and began their investigation. Mirasol’s electronics were seized and searched. Law enforcement discovered that Mirasol’s electronics contained numerous videos of children in various stages of undress.  The focus of the videos was on the children’s genital areas. One video showed Mirasol himself installing a camera in a guest’s bathroom. HSI agents were able to identify children depicted in the videos, ranging from 2 to 17 years of age.”

Mirasol said he had been placing cameras in passenger cabins since December of 2023. Mirasol would enter the guests’ rooms while they were showering and hide under their beds so he could secretly record them exiting the shower.

On May 23^rd in Juneau, Alaska, a federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment charging a South African man with assaulting three people with medical scissors while aboard a cruise ship.

According to court documents, on May 6, 2024, Ntando Sogoni, 35, was allegedly discovered trying to deploy a lifeboat and was taken to the ship’s medical area for an evaluation.

“During his evaluation, he began struggling with a nurse and security guard and fled to another examination room, where he assaulted a female victim, who is a U.S. citizen. He stabbed her with trauma scissors multiple times in the chest, arms and head, causing serious bodily harm. He proceeded to attack two security guards, stabbing one guard, a national of the Philippines, in the head, and stabbing the other guard, a national of Nepal, in the spine.”

He was detained and held in the ship’s jail until arriving in Juneau on May 7, where he was charged by complaint and arrested by the FBI.

At the time of the assault, the ship was on the high seas and within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the U.S., and on a voyage with a scheduled departure from or arrival in the U.S.

According to the Justice Department, Sogoni was charged with one count assault with intent to murder in violation of 18 U.S.C. §7(1), (7) and (8) and 113(a)(1), three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §7(1), (7) and (8) and 113(a)(3), and three counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury in violation of 18 U.S.C. §7(1), (7) and (8) and 113(a)(6),

Back in June of 2021 in Juneau, Alaska, a Utah man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for the beating death of his wife during a 2017 family cruise to Alaska.

According to the Justice Department, Kenneth Manzanares, 43, pleaded guilty in February 2020 to the second-degree murder of Kristy Manzanares while onboard the Emerald Princess cruise ship in the U.S. Territorial Waters outside southeast Alaska on July 25, 2017.

“In 2017 Kenneth Manzanares brutally murdered his wife Kristy Manzanares while on an Alaskan cruise with their three daughters and extended family members. This was not a random act of violence but a chilling neglect for human life for which he will serve 30 years in federal prison, where there is no parole ever,” said then-Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson of the District of Alaska.  

“While today’s sentence will not bring Kristy back to her family and friends, we hope it provides a sense of justice for this heinous crime and brings some closure to those who knew and cared about her.”

Robert Britt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Anchorage Field Office, added, “No excuse can justify the savagery committed by this man, who will now spend the next three decades behind bars. The FBI worked tirelessly, with the support of our partners, to seek justice for Kristy – a beloved mother, daughter, sister and friend.  While justice has now been served, the lasting impact and trauma this man inflicted on Kristy’s family can never be erased. Our thoughts are with Kristy’s family and her home community.”

According to court documents, on July 24, 2017, Kenneth Manzanares, Kristy Manzanares, their three daughters and Kristy’s extended family members boarded the Emerald Princess on an Alaskan cruise. On the evening of July 25, Kenneth and Kristy were inside their cabin along with two of their daughters.

According to admissions made in connection with the plea, Kenneth and Kristy became involved in an argument about Kenneth’s behavior that evening. During the argument, Kristy stated she wanted a divorce and told him to get off the ship in Juneau and travel back home to Utah. Kenneth told the two daughters to leave the room, and both went into an adjoining relatives’ cabin. A few minutes later, they both heard Kristy scream and attempted to reenter the cabin using the adjoining door when Kenneth told them not to come in. They both went to the connected balcony and saw Kenneth straddling Kristy on the bed striking her in the head with closed fists.

“Prior to security officers arriving in the cabin, Kristy Manzanares’ two brothers and father arrived on scene. One of the brothers saw Kenneth Manzanares drag Kristy’s body toward the balcony and he grabbed her ankles pulling her back into the cabin. Soon after, at approximately 9:00 p.m., ship security and medical personnel arrived and attempted to perform life saving measures on Kristy but were unsuccessful. It was determined that she was killed by blunt force trauma to her head and face. Manzanares was arrested, on July 26, 2017.”

“I’ve vacationed on many cruise ships with my wife and other couples, and we’ve never encountered any incidents of crime involving us or other passengers,” Tartaglia said. “But you should always be aware that crime can occur anywhere, including on cruise ships.”

Paul Davis, a longtime contributor to the Journal, also writes the online Threatcon column.

Note: The above photo is of my late friend and former Philadelphia Detective Mark Tartaglia.