Where can you see official cruise ship crime and overboard statistics?

Last updated October 4, 2026.

The U.S. Department of Transportation publishes them. Under the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, DOT must keep a statistical compilation of the alleged crimes and missing persons that cruise lines report to the FBI, updated at least quarterly and sortable by cruise line (46 U.S.C. 3507(g)(4)). Its Cruise Line Incident Reports page lists every quarter from 2010 through April to June 2026.

Families, passengers and journalists often want to know how often crimes are reported on a given cruise line. The official numbers exist, but they have specific limits that are easy to misread. This page explains where to find them, what the law requires them to show, what the most recent report contains, and how they can and cannot be used. It is part of our guide to cruise injury claims.

How do the numbers get from the ship to the public, step by step?

1. A complaint is made on board. The ship logs all complaints of listed crimes, thefts over $1,000 and other crimes (3507(g)(1)).
2. The cruise line calls the FBI. For listed serious crimes, including homicide, suspicious death, a missing U.S. national, kidnapping, assault with serious bodily injury, listed sexual offenses, firing or tampering with the vessel, and theft over $10,000, the cruise line must contact the FBI as soon as possible (3507(g)(3)(A)(i)). Read who investigates a crime on a cruise ship for when that rule applies.
3. A written report goes to DOT's site. The cruise line furnishes a written report of each listed incident to the website the Secretary of Transportation maintains (3507(g)(3)(A)(ii)).
4. DOT compiles and publishes. DOT posts a quarterly statistical compilation, a numerical accounting of missing persons and alleged crimes reported under the statute, without regard to the investigative status of each incident (3507(g)(4)(A)(i)).
5. Cruise lines link to it. Each cruise line taking on or discharging passengers in the U.S. must include a link on its own website to DOT's compilation (3507(g)(4)(B)).

What must the reports show?

Section 3507(g)(4)(A)(ii) says the compilation must be updated at least quarterly, be sortable by cruise line, identify each cruise line by name, identify each crime or alleged crime committed or allegedly committed by a passenger or a crew member, identify the number of individuals alleged overboard, and include the approximate number of passengers and crew carried by each cruise line during each quarter. The statute also tells DOT to present the data in a user-friendly format.

What does the latest report show?

The most recent compilation on DOT's page covers April 1 to June 30, 2026, and the page shows it was last updated on August 5, 2026. The report states that it counts incidents reported to the FBI during the quarter, not necessarily occurring during the quarter, and that it counts them without regard to investigative status. It breaks down alleged incidents by cruise line and by whether the alleged perpetrator was crew, a passenger or unknown.

In that quarter, 44 of the 50 alleged incidents were in the two sexual assault categories. The report lists each cruise line by name with its own totals, so readers can look up a specific line. Survivors can read what a cruise ship's medical staff must provide after a sexual assault.

How do you read a cruise line's row?

Each cruise line in the report has a block of rows. The "Total" row adds up all alleged incidents for that line in each category. Below it, separate rows split the same incidents by who allegedly committed them: "Crew," "Passenger," and, where the report could not say, "Unknown." The last column gives the line's total for the quarter across all categories.

Read across a row to see which kinds of incidents were reported for that line, and down a column to compare lines in one category. Because the statute requires the compilation to be sortable by cruise line and to identify the crew or passenger status of each alleged offender, that split is a useful part of the report for anyone asking about crew conduct on a particular line. To see a trend, open several quarters for the same line; one quarter alone can be misleading because of the report-date rule explained below.

What changes how you should read the numbers?

Report date, not incident date

The report says it counts incidents reported to the FBI during the quarter, not necessarily occurring then. An incident from one quarter can appear in a later one.

Allegations, not findings

The statute calls for a count of alleged crimes without regard to investigative status. A number in the table is not a conviction or a finding that a crime occurred.

Only listed crimes

The compilation is built from the incidents listed in section 3507(g)(3)(A)(i). Lesser thefts, other assaults and many injuries never appear in it, even though they go in the ship's own log.

Which voyages are covered

The safety law applies to ships carrying 250 or more passengers on voyages that embark or disembark passengers in the U.S. (3507(k)), so voyages outside that scope are not counted. Our page on the safety rules federal law imposes on cruise ships explains the coverage.

Overboard counts and passenger numbers

The statute calls for the number of individuals alleged overboard and approximate passenger and crew numbers per cruise line. The April to June 2026 table we reviewed lists alleged crimes and missing U.S. nationals by category and cruise line, and does not show a separate overboard count or passenger totals. Families affected by an overboard incident can read our page on overboard and drowning cases.

How might the numbers matter in a claim?

Published statistics describe patterns across a whole cruise line. A passenger's own claim usually turns on more specific facts. In a claim that the cruise line itself was careless about a hazard, the Eleventh Circuit looks for things such as substantially similar prior incidents, not general counts (Holland v. Carnival Corp., 2022); see whether you have to prove the cruise line knew about the hazard. Statistics can still help frame the questions to ask about security, staffing and monitoring, and the cruise line's own records are obtained in discovery.

What does this look like in practice?

For example, imagine a family whose adult daughter reports a sexual assault by a crew member during a cruise in May 2026. Months later, they look at DOT's page and open the April to June 2026 report. They find the cruise line's row and see entries under the sexual assault categories with the alleged perpetrator marked as crew. They cannot tell from the table whether one of those entries is their daughter's report, because the table has no names or dates, and a report made to the FBI in July would appear in the next quarter instead.

The numbers do not prove their daughter's case, and their lawyer does not rely on them to. What matters more is the ship's log entry, the FBI case number, the crew access records for the cabin and the video. The statistics simply show the family where the reporting system records incidents like hers.

This example is hypothetical, not a past case or a result.

What mistakes do people make with these statistics?

• Reading the quarter as the date of the incident. The count reflects when incidents were reported to the FBI.
• Treating allegations as proven crimes. The compilation is expressly without regard to investigative status.
• Assuming a missing line had no incidents. Check the full report and earlier quarters before drawing conclusions.
• Comparing lines without context. Without passenger totals in the table, raw counts do not show rates.
• Relying on statistics instead of preserving your own evidence. Video on covered ships must be kept only 20 days unless a listed incident is reported to law enforcement; see how to get the cruise line's video before it disappears.

What should you do this week?

1. Open DOT's Cruise Line Incident Reports page and download the quarters that cover your voyage and the months after it.
2. Note the cruise line's row and the categories that match what happened.
3. Save copies of the reports with the date you downloaded them.
4. Write down your own incident details, including any FBI or ship case number.
5. Send the cruise line a written request to preserve records and video for your incident.
6. Talk to a lawyer about what evidence matters in your own claim. Our page on assault and onboard crime explains how those claims are built.

Frequently asked questions

How far back do the reports go?

DOT's page lists reports from January to December 2010 and then each quarter through April to June 2026.

Do the numbers include crimes in foreign ports?

The compilation is built from incidents the cruise line must report to the FBI under section 3507(g)(3), which depends on factors such as the voyage touching the U.S. and whether a U.S. national is involved. Crimes outside those rules may not be counted.

Do the reports name victims or ships?

The April to June 2026 report lists cruise lines by name and categories of alleged incidents. It does not name victims.

Can a cruise line refuse to link to the reports?

No. Each cruise line taking on or discharging passengers in the U.S. must include a link on its website to DOT's compilation (3507(g)(4)(B)).

Where are deaths and disappearances shown?

Suspicious deaths, homicides and missing U.S. nationals are categories in the report. Families facing a loss can read what happens first after a family member dies on a cruise.

Who keeps the underlying records?

The ship's log of complaints must be available on request to the FBI, the Coast Guard and investigating law enforcement (3507(g)(1)(B)). In a civil case, the cruise line's records are requested through discovery.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Statistics are allegations reported to the FBI, not findings. Contact a lawyer about your specific situation.