Some of the men who were escorted off the cruise ship. Credit:Courtesy of the Eden Magnet Police boarded the ship to the applause of other passengers and escorted off a group of people, ferried them to shore and ushered them onto a waiting bus. They removed six men and three teenage boys. Another 14 passengers, including women and children, also left the ship. The group was taken to Canberra where other travel arrangements were made.

Police said they were investigating a fight that broke out between several men after an argument. No-one has been charged yet. The Carnival Legend is scheduled to make port in Melbourne on Saturday morning after cutting short the cruise due to the incidents. Male passengers are escorted off the cruise ship to waiting bus in Eden. Credit:Courtesy of Eden Magnet A 21-year-old female passenger who did not want to be named told Fairfax Media on Friday afternoon she was relieved to know the situation was under control after "a rough time".

She said she believed the violence had all been instigated by one large family group of at least 20 people who "came onto the boat wanting to fight people" and were using any excuse to start trouble. Travelling with her partner and another couple, she said their group became targeted two days ago after one member accidentally brushed past a member of the "violent" family. "Yesterday the friend we were travelling with was subjected to a large violent outburst ... he was essentially thrown to the ground, it was completely unprovoked," she said, adding she believes the violence may have been triggered when her friend made eye contact with the group as they were chasing down another passenger. "They had him by the neck and they were punching and kicking him," she said. An image taken from mobile phone footage of the violent brawl. Credit:Neil Mitchell, radio 3AW

The woman and her partner spent the past two days hiding in their cabin and were looking forward to getting on with what was left of their holiday. Another passenger identified only as Zac had told Neil Mitchell on Melbourne radio station 3AW he was going to be removed from the ship on Friday after being locked in his room by security overnight. Zac claimed the drama between his family and another party on the ship started following a misunderstanding over a thong. "This is all over a thong, not a foot, a thong being stepped on and being instantly apologised for. What happened there and then was apologised for," he said. "My nephew was threatened as he was returning a soccer ... when four or five blokes walked up to him and said 'Don't worry we're gonna get ya.' "

A bleeding passenger after a brawl on the Carnival Legend cruise ship. Credit:David Barkho via Neil Mitchell's program on 3AW Zac also claimed security guards followed his family at "every possible moment" and suggested they further aggravated the situation. "The first hit was thrown by security towards, not just my daughter and my sister-in-law, but my wife as well," he said. When the brawl broke out, Zac further claimed security guards assaulted him and his son, "taking turns pounding us in the face with knuckle dusters and steel-cap-boots". "We're basically standing here, thanking the lord above that we survived it," he said.

Mobile phone footage appears to show security guards kicking a passenger during the fight. Credit:Neil Mitchell, radio 3AW Confronting footage of the brawl obtained by 3AW shows security guards were involved in the melee, although it does not show who instigated the fight. Several guards and at least one staff member can be seen kicking a passenger while he is on the ground. People can be heard crying and screaming in the background. Concerned father David Barkho told 3AW his son George called him crying from the ship about 1am on Friday.

His son said "a lot of people are bleeding, a lot of people down". "He has a head injury," he said. "He said: 'Please, Dad, please Dad, call the federal police. "I could hear a lot of kids crying, women screaming, swearing." One passenger, known only as Michael, told 3AW he was kicked while lying on the ground, and received cuts and bruising to his face, back and legs.

Injured passenger Michael. Credit:Neil Mitchell, radio 3AW Melbourne mother Kellie Petersen is on board with her husband and three children, aged 11, nine and six. She told 3AW she and her husband had been threatened by the large and aggressive family group responsible for the chaos. "Fights have been going on for a few days now," she told the radio station. "We're scared. We've been told to watch our backs by this group so we're scared to go anywhere alone in the ship.

"We can't wait to get off." Ms Petersen said some violent incidents had occurred in front of children in the pool. "People are walking around with cut heads and hands, bandages everywhere," she said. Other passengers said they refused to leave their cabins as they were scared for their safety.

Carnival general manager Jennifer Vandekreek said there was "limited and isolated events with the family in question" in the lead-up to the brawl.

"Disembarking a family from a cruise is an unprecedented incident," she told reporters in Sydney on Friday. "It is always our last resort. We felt it was the best course of action for the safety and security of our guests and our crew." An internal investigation into the incident has now been launched, Carnival president Sture Myrmell said. He would not be drawn on the actions of staff or passengers until it was complete but said "excessive behaviour" was not tolerated by the company. Carnival has dispatched a "care crew" to support the remaining passengers who are completing the final days of their cruise.

The ship is due to berth in Melbourne on Saturday. The incident comes after seven people were off-loaded from a P&O Cruises ship in Sydney Harbour on Sunday after another violent incident at sea. A 37-year-old Russian woman allegedly struck a 21-year-old man with an empty wine bottle, causing a cut to his head, during a fight about 1am. Six men were subsequently released without charge while the Russian was charged with reckless wounding and affray. The Carnival Legend in a file picture. Credit: James Morgan