Italian authorities have detained four young passengers on charges of allegedly raping an Italian woman aboard the MSC Seaside while the ship was traveling from Marseille to Genoa.
The Genoa border police led the investigation, successfully identifying the suspects.
The MSC Seaside docked in Genoa on the evening of May 17, and remained in port until the next evening as the investigation was conducted, according to several Italian news sources.
Ship security identified the suspects, who were then handed over to the police. Authorities have reviewed footage from onboard CCTV cameras and interviewed multiple witnesses.
~4000 passengers, including school groups from Messina Sicily, were temporarily confined on board during the investigation.
The suspects, all slightly over 18 years old, are under strict confidentiality as the investigation proceeds.
Following the prosecutor's approval, the ship was allowed to continue the voyage.
At the time of the accident, MSC Seaside was on a 7-day roundtrip itinerary from Palermo Sicily which started on May 13th and ended on May 20th.
For more MSC Seaside incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.