The employee, identified as Ntando Sogoni from South Africa, had recently started working on Norwegian Encore, a ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line,.
According to AP News, which cited an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Matthew Judy, the ship disembarked from Seattle on Sunday and was scheduled to stop in Alaskan ports, including Junea, during the weeklong voyage.
Sogoni, 35, was on duty on Monday when he began to exhibit “unusual and irrational behaviour,” a spokesperson for the Norwegian Cruise Line told Business Insider.
He allegedly tried to deploy a lifeboat from the ship, according to a press release issued by the district attorney’s office.
According to the FBI, Sogoni was taken to the ship’s medical center for examination, where he then “physically attacked” a security guard and a nurse before using a pair of scissors to stab a passenger who was being examined.
Sogoni allegedly stabbed the passenger several times in her arm, hand, and face.
A security guard who intervened was stabbed in the head, while a second security guard was stabbed in the back and shoulders, authorities said.
The conditions of the passenger and staff are unknown, though AP News reported that none of the injuries were life-threatening.
The ship was traveling west of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, when the alleged incident took place, the publication added.
