Overview
- Federal agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and ICE Homeland Security Investigations arrested 11 foreign nationals after boarding the Volendam and Norwegian Breakaway in an operation conducted Aug. 14–16 that targeted receipt and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
- Nine of the detained people are citizens of the Philippines, one is from Indonesia and one is from Nicaragua, and officials have not released their names or said whether they worked on the ships.
- CBP and HSI said the detentions followed comprehensive searches of the subjects’ living quarters and electronic devices that produced the evidence prompting action.
- After consulting the U.S. Attorney’s Office, authorities processed all 11 for removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act provision for crimes involving moral turpitude and said the individuals are scheduled to depart the United States, and no Boston-area federal criminal charges have been publicly announced.
- The arrests were part of Operation Tidal Wave, a continuing multiagency effort that has produced administrative removals in other ports and at least one federal prosecution earlier in 2026, showing officials use both immigration tools and criminal cases to address suspected crew involvement in CSAM.