The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested a cruise ship crew member, identified as Akshay Somaroo, for possession and importation of child pornography near Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, Canada according to Nunatsiaq News. At the time of his arrest, Somaroo was working on the World Explorer, a relatively small expedition cruise ship with a capacity of around 170 guests and 130 crew members.

The local news reported that RCMP officers boarded the cruise ship in Frobisher Bay to assist Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada officers with what were described as “routine” customs examinations. While conducting these examinations, this crew member, who reportedly is from Mauritius, was searched by CBSA officers and was subsequently arrested after he was found to be in possession of child pornography.

The arrest of this 31 year-old crew member brings the total number of crew members arrested for child pornograhy to seventeen (17) in just the last seven months. This is the highest number of such arrests since I began reporting about the cruise industry fifteen years ago.

Somaroo did not enter a plea and is scheduled to appear in the Nunavut Court of Justice on September 11th, according to a news release on the RCMP website.

Mystic Cruises owns the World Explorer which is currently chartered to and operated by Quark Expeditions and Nicko Cruises.

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Image credit: Akshay Somaroo in custody of Canadian sheriff’s office – Arty Sarkisian via Nunatsiaq News; World Explorer – Quark Expeditions