MSC Poesia detained in Miami by Coast Guard
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
The U.S. Coast Guard detained MSC Poesia at the Port of Miami after finding deficiencies during an inspection.
The 11-night Caribbean sailing was canceled and guests were promised full refunds.
Background
MSC Poesia is a 2008-built cruise ship operated by MSC Cruises, with capacity for 3,223 guests and 1,039 crew. The U.S. Coast Guard's Miami Port State Control team inspects foreign-flagged commercial vessels visiting U.S. ports for safety, security and environmental compliance, and can hold a ship until problems preventing departure are fixed. Such detentions are rare: the Coast Guard's 2025 port state control report recorded 78 detentions out of 8,999 safety examinations.
How it unfolded
- Nov 1, 2026The U.S. Coast Guard's Miami Port State Control team detained MSC Poesia at the Port of Miami after identifying deficiencies during an inspection.
- Nov 2, 2026CBS News reported the ship was detained with passengers on board and its itinerary on hold.
- Nov 3, 2026The Coast Guard said teams were verifying the ship's compliance with international standards and U.S. regulations.
- Nov 3, 2026MSC Poesia's 11-night Caribbean and Central America sailing was canceled; MSC Cruises said guests would receive a full refund of their cruise fare.
- Nov 3, 2026The ship remained docked at MSC Cruises' Terminal AA in Miami, and the Coast Guard had not disclosed the specific reasons for the detention.
Key terms
- Port State Control
- An inspection regime in which a country inspects foreign-registered ships in its ports and acts against those not in compliance.
- foreign-flagged
- Describes a vessel registered under the laws of a country other than the one whose port it is visiting.
- Captain of the Port
- An official with varying duties in the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Coast Guard Cmdr. Frank Florio said the service identified deficiencies with systems on board that it is addressing with MSC, but could not comment on specifics of the ongoing examination.
- Official
- The Coast Guard said verifying safe and secure commerce is its task and that the Captain of the Port's priority is the safety of passengers, crew, the vessel and the environment.
- Party
- MSC Cruises said a regulatory matter arose before departure that it could not resolve in time, that it is fully cooperating with the inspection, and apologized to guests for the disruption.
Still unverified
The Coast Guard has not disclosed the specific reasons for the detention, and it was not immediately clear whether the examination began as standard procedure or which regulations may not have been met; it is also unclear how many people were on board.