Four Carnival Cruise Line crew members were removed from a ship in Baltimore by border security officials.
Customs and Border Protection inspected the Carnival Pride ship on Sept. 7, “based off intelligence that crew members were in possession of child sexual exploitation material,” the law enforcement organization told USA TODAY.
“After boarding the vessel and interviewing four suspected crew members, officers confirmed they had received and viewed the exploitation material,” the emailed statement continued.
CBP did not specify whether any criminal charges had been filed against the crew members. “This is a law enforcement matter of which we always cooperate, and we defer to the authorities for further comment,” Carnival said in an emailed statement.
The news comes after nearly 30 Carnival crew members were detained in recent months in Norfolk, Virginia, The Virginian-Pilot reported in August. The Southern California-based Pilipino Workers Center told the outlet at the time that the crew members had also been accused of possessing child pornography, which they denied, and that they were not charged with any crimes.
The organization did not respond to multiple requests for comment from USA TODAY. “U.S. Customs and Border Protection is involved in ongoing cruise vessel operations where we enforce immigration law,” CBP told USA TODAY at the time. “The crewmembers were found inadmissible and were denied entry to the United States.”
CBP also removed crew members working aboard at least two ships in the Great Lakes in July, but did not share reasons for the removals at the time. The incidents have taken place amid President Donald Trump‘s nationwide crackdown on immigration.
A number of crew members from various cruise lines have been arrested on child pornography charges in recent months. Anthony Salisbury, then special agent in charge at Homeland Security Investigations Miami, told USA TODAY in August 2024 that child exploitation was “significantly higher across the board,” not just in the cruise industry.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 4 Carnival crew removed after allegedly receiving child pornography

