A passenger aboard Star Clippers’ Royal Clipper was attacked and killed during a port call in Antigua on Jan. 19, according to a statement from Star Clippers.
The cruise line said that the Antiguan police reported that the body of 30-year-old Nina Elisabeth Nilssen, a U.S. citizen, was discovered around 5 p.m. on a secluded trail at Windward Bay, near Pigeon Point Beach.
Star Clippers said Nilssen was not with a group on a shore excursion.
Antiguan authorities have a description of the alleged assailant but have not made an arrest. The investigation is being led by Jacques Ouellette, assistant commissioner of police and head of the Criminal Investigation Department.
Nilssen’s family disembarked from the ship on the night of the murder and received assistance from both Star Clippers and the Antiguan government with accommodations, flights home and arrangements to return the body to the U.S., according to the cruise line's statement.
A statement released by Antigua & Barbuda's ministry of tourism and tourism authority said that "the government recognizes that the safety and security of our citizens and visitors is paramount. No effort will be spared in bringing the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice."
Star Clippers CEO Mikael Krafft expressed "heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the members" of the victim’s family.
Nilssen’s murder appears to be the country’s first homicide for 2010, according to the Antigua Sun.
Brutal attacks against tourists in Antigua occurred in 2008 when honeymooners from Wales were murdered and in 2009 when an Australian yachtsman was shot and killed.
