Key Aspects:
- Six male guests aboard MSC Divina hacked the communications systems and broadcast fake emergency announcements.
- The incident happened while the ship was at sea heading toward Naples early on the morning of Thursday, July 30, 2026.
- Local authorities boarded the ship in Naples and the men now face various charges, though the investigation is still ongoing.
Six young male guests are now facing various charges after they broke through security codes and accessed the computer system onboard MSC Divina, broadcasting false emergency announcements to some of the ship’s public areas.
According to Napoli Today, the incident happened while the ship was at sea in the early morning hours of Thursday, July 30, 2026. MSC Divina was approaching Naples at the time and authorities were alerted to respond to the situation.
The six guests are identified only as adults of Neapolitan (Naples) origin. Their exact ages and names have not been released, though they were traveling together in two staterooms onboard the 3,502-guest ship.
Access to the onboard communications system and intercom system is restricted and requires a security code. The passengers allegedly managed to hack that code to gain access to the system, then proceeded to broadcast announcements that were heard in the public areas of two decks.
The exact unauthorized announcements have not been shared but seemed to indicate the captain had lost control of the vessel and the ship was adrift.
At the time, MSC Divina was proceeding to Naples following a visit to Marmaris, Turkey on Tuesday, July 28. The ship was not delayed on her arrival to Naples at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 30.
Guests who heard the strange but alarming announcements reported the incident onboard at roughly 6:30 a.m. The operations center of the Coast Guard’s General Command in Rome intervened, and officers boarded the ship in Naples.
The cruise ship’s master also lodged a complaint about the incident and authorities were able to trace the illegal transmissions and identify the guests responsible.
Charges against the young men include conspiracy to violate the law, unauthorized access to a computer system, and causing an alarm.
The investigation of the incident continues as authorities trace the exact procedures that resulted in the system breach. The results of the investigation will also be shared with Panamanian authorities, as MSC Divina is registered under the Panamanian flag.
After enjoying the day in Naples, the ship departed and headed toward Civitavecchia for debarkation on Friday, July 31 at the end of the 7-night Eastern Mediterranean sailing. The cruise originally departed on July 24.
Further Consequences Likely
In addition to charges from Italian authorities, it is also possible the guests involved may also face severe consequences from MSC Cruises.
The cruise line’s Guest Conduct Policy explicitly states that unsafe behavior is not permitted.
“Guests may not enter or access any area that is restricted and/or for the use of crew members,” the policy reads.
That the “area” these men entered was digital may be a key point, but there is no doubt they were not authorized to be using the ship’s communication and public address system.
Consequences for violating the Guest Conduct Policy range from security and law enforcement intervention to “denial of boarding on the current or any future MSC Cruises Group cruise.”
This means these passengers may be facing a lifetime ban from the cruise line, as well as Explora Journeys cruises, as they are also part of the corporation.
Cruise Hive has reported on different questionable behaviors that have led to guests receiving lifetime bans from different cruise lines. Many such incidents do not involve potentially starting an onboard panic, but even simple acts like sneaking alcohol onboard or fishing off a balcony can lead to those severe consequences.
MSC Cruises has not commented publicly on this fake announcement incident. It is not uncommon for cruise lines to avoid comments while investigations are ongoing.
