Moment shocked passengers watch as vicious brawl erupts on Carnival Cruise ship when 'bunch of drunk girls from Tampa' lash out at each other

• A passenger named as Nick Richardson captured the bizarre scenes on camera

Dramatic footage shows the moment a huge brawl erupts on a Carnival Cruise ship, allegedly between a 'bunch of drunk girls from Tampa', as shocked passengers watch on.

A group of unruly women are seen throwing chairs across a dining room, hitting and dragging each other to the ground as they yell threats.

A traveler caught the violent fight on camera as he went into one of the ship's food halls, saying amid the chaos ''I just want some pizza!'

Security guards are forced to intervene as the scrap spirals out of control, but their attempts to reason with the women appear futile as the fight continues.

When the women are eventually calmed down and separated after several minutes, canteen furniture can be seen strewn across the floor.

The man filming the wild scenes, who has been named as Nick Richardson, offers commentary, laughing and repeatedly shouting 'God damn' as the fight gets more and more out of hand.

'This is just what happens at three in the morning when you got a bunch of drunk girls from Tampa,' said Richardson, 43, who was reportedly on the cruise with his fiancee and children. 

The women are seen slamming each other to the floor and are seen pulling one another's hair in the bizarre melee. 

The brawling women appear at one point to edge towards Richardson, and he quickly retreats as he fears getting caught up in the aggression.

Other passengers start to film the incident too, and seem to be in disbelief at the ferocity of the fight.

Cruise ship staff also watch on, laughing in apparent bemusement, while a security team arrived and got to work separating the women.

Seemingly annoyed with the disturbance to his holiday, Richardson adds: 'The last night too, had to ruin it for everybody. Welcome to America.' 

The incident, which took place last month, was captured on video and has received thousands of views since it was posted on TikTok and YouTube.

In a statement, Carnival Cruise Line said: 'Carnival Paradise's security team intervened in an incident that took place on June 6. 

'As is our policy, we will not tolerate such behavior and the guests involved were fined and will not sail on Carnival Cruise Line again.'

The company has a strict code of conduct for guests and says on its website that anyone in violation of it could be fined $500. 

The ship, which has multiple restaurants and bars as well as a water park, has a capacity of more than 2,000 passengers and travels from Tampa to multiple locations, including the Bahamas and the Caribbean.