This is all over a jandal – passengers tell of violent horror cruise
A violent brawl that broke out on a cruise ship bound for Melbourne, forcing the vessel to dock early in New South Wales, may have been sparked by a dispute over a jandal.
Carnival Cruise Lines said it called police to ‘‘remove a family group of passengers’’, and officers boarded the ship on Friday morning once it reached Eden on the NSW South Coast.
Scared passengers said people were left bleeding and traumatised after the violent outburst on the Carnival Legend, which had been on a 10-day journey to the South Pacific.
Police removed six men and three teenage boys. Another 14 passengers, including women and children, also left the ship. The group was taken where other travel were made.
Police said they were investigating a fight that broke out between several men after an argument. No-one has been charged yet.
The Carnival Legend was scheduled to dock in Melbourne yesterday after cutting short the cruise due to the incidents.
A 21-year-old female passenger who did not want to be named said she believed the violence had been instigated by one large family group of at least 20 people who ‘‘came on to the boat wanting to fight people’’ and were using any excuse to start trouble.
The woman, who was travelling with her partner and another couple, said their group was targeted after one member accidentally to Canberra, arrangements brushed past a member of the ‘‘violent’’ family.
‘‘He was essentially thrown to the ground, it was completely unprovoked,’’ she said.
She believed the violence may have been triggered when her friend made eye contact with the group as they were chasing down another passenger. ‘‘They had him by the neck and they were punching and kicking him,’’ she said.
The woman said she and her partner had spent two days hiding in their cabin.
Another passenger identified only as Zac had told Melbourne radio station 3AW that he was going to be removed from the ship after being locked in his room by security.
Zac claimed that the drama between his family and another party on the ship started following a misunderstanding over a thong.
‘‘This is all over a thong, not a foot, a thong being stepped on and being instantly apologised for. What happened there and then was apologised for,’’ he said.
Zac also claimed that security guards followed his family at ‘‘every possible moment’’, and suggested that they further aggravated the situation.
‘‘The first hit was thrown by security, towards not just my daughter and my sister-in-law, but my wife as well,’’ he said.
Zac further claimed that when the brawl broke out, security guards assaulted him and his son, ‘‘taking turns pounding us in the face with knuckledusters and steelcapped boots’’.
Footage of the brawl obtained by 3AW shows security guards and at least one staff member kicking a passenger while he is on the ground. People can be heard crying and screaming in the background.
Carnival general manager Jennifer Vandekreek said there were ‘‘limited and isolated events with the family in question’’ in the leadup to the brawl.
‘‘Disembarking a family from a cruise is an unprecedented incident. It is always our last resort,’’ she said.
‘‘We felt it was the best course of action for the safety and security of our guests and our crew.’’
An internal investigation into the incident had been launched, Carnival president Sture Myrmell said.
Carnival had also dispatched a ‘‘care crew’’ to support the remaining passengers who were completing the final days of their cruise, he said.