Eleven cruise crewmembers arrested during Port of Boston operation
Federal authorities boarded Volendam and Norwegian Breakaway in an enforcement operation conducted between August 14 and August 16, 2026.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations special agents arrested eleven foreign-national crewmembers at the Port of Boston during an operation targeting people allegedly involved in child pornography-related offenses.
The report says officers and agents boarded Volendam and Norwegian Breakaway, where they encountered the eleven individuals suspected of involvement in child sex abuse activities. Authorities searched the crewmembers’ living quarters and electronic devices in their possession.
Nine of those arrested were citizens of the Philippines, while one was an Indonesian citizen and one was a Nicaraguan citizen, according to the report.
Following consultation with the United States Attorney’s Office, all eleven crewmembers were processed for removal from the United States under an immigration-law provision covering foreign nationals involved in crimes of moral turpitude. CBP said a shipping agent assisted with processing and that the individuals were scheduled to depart the country.
According to CBP, Operation Tidal Wave seeks to identify and initiate enforcement action against cruise ship crewmembers associated with the possession, use, procurement, production or distribution of child sexual exploitation material and child sexual abuse material.