A cruise ship worker has been arrested and charged in connection to a shocking attack at sea off the coast of Vancouver Island that injured five people, including a 75-year-old passenger, according to documents from the FBI.
The worker, a South African national, was hired by Norwegian Cruise Line to work on the Norwegian Encore vessel. The affidavit from FBI agent Matthew B. Judy alleges that the man boarded the vessel in Seattle on Sunday en route to Alaska.
The ship’s itinerary states that it would travel north, past British Columbia, to Juneau and Ketchikan, Alaska, before returning and stopping in Victoria and then back to Seattle on May 12.
However, the document states that personnel caught the man that night trying to board a lifeboat while the ship was off the west coast of Vancouver Island, about 30 kilometres from Tofino. He’s been named as Ntando Sogoni in the documents.
“Sogoni was contacted by ship security officers, who eventually escorted him to the shipboard medical center for an assessment. After he was brought to an examination
room, Sogoni became irrational and attempted to leave. He physically attacked a security
guard and a male nurse,” the document describes.
He allegedly then ran into a medical room where a passenger was being treated and stabbed the woman in the arm, hands and face with a pair of scissors. She’s described as 75 years old, and her injuries were reportedly non-life-threatening.
“Security guards intervened and Sogoni stabbed two guards with the scissors before they could subdue and detain him. One guard… a citizen of the Philippines, was stabbed
in the head. The other guard…a citizen of Nepal, was stabbed in the back and shoulder,” the affidavit reads. The victims were treated for non-lethal injuries.
He was held in the ship’s jail and then arrested in Juneau by the FBI.
While the incident is detailed as having happened off Canada, the FBI agent says there is probable cause to believe the criminal act occurred “within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”
“Sogoni is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon within maritime and territorial jurisdiction in violation of 18 USC §113(a)(3). If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors,” a release from the United States Attorney’s Office reads in part.
Daily Hive has contacted Norwegian Cruise Line for comment and will update this piece if that information becomes available.