Thirteen passengers, ages 18 to 20, were identified by police after a violent brawl aboard Costa Cruises’ Costa Smeralda during an overnight sailing between Naples and Palermo, Italy. The incident occurred on March 5, 2026, and footage of the incident was only recently shared publicly.

The confrontation allegedly involved two groups of young Italian passengers. One group was from the Salento area in southern Italy and had boarded the ship in Civitavecchia, while the other group was from Sicily and had boarded in Palermo.

The fight reportedly began near the ship’s nightclub after a comment directed toward a woman angered a member of the other group. The argument quickly escalated into a large physical fight.

Tables, chairs, and other furnishings were reportedly used during the brawl as the fight moved through the ship’s corridors and toward the elevator area. Some of those involved allegedly continued kicking a young passenger in the head after he was already on the floor unconscious.

Footage of the fight can be seen below.

The injured passenger was later taken to a hospital, but examinations reportedly found no serious injuries.

Ship personnel alerted Palermo’s maritime border police after the confrontation. Once the Costa Smeralda reached Palermo, officers reviewed footage from the vessel’s surveillance cameras to reconstruct the incident and identify those believed to have participated.

Police ultimately identified 13 passengers in connection with the brawl.

The 13 passengers were referred to the Palermo prosecutor’s office on suspicion of rissa aggravata, or aggravated brawling. The passengers were not taken into custody.

Fights are unfortunately not a rare occurrence on cruise ships. In May 2025, a British man died after a fight on the MSC Virtuosa. In April 2025, a passenger aboard Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas was beaten unconscious and kicked after falling to the floor during an altercation near an elevator. In July 2024, we reported on a large brawl aboard the Carnival Paradise in which video showed passengers fighting in a dining area and chairs being thrown during the confrontation.

There have been no reported arrests in connection with the Costa Smeralda incident. A Costa Cruises spokesperson told People, “We do not tolerate this kind of behavior and have placed the individuals involved on our Do Not Sail List.”