General Discussion

Crew Are Vetted by International Agencies
This is especially puzzling because all crew are culled and vetted by international agencies. In Victory’s case, that is the Anglo-Eastern Group, who work in tandem with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. This is in addition to them being vetted by their home countries. For the Filipino workers, that initial vetting is done by the equivalent of the FBI in the Philippines. Once cleared, these crew members are issued special work visas called C1D’s that are mandatory for employment on U.S. based ships.

During the Victory I incident, which occurred in open view on the Detroit River Walk, a female cabin attendant from Nicaragua was seen being detained. It was later relayed through another crew member that she is close with that she refused to sign the “confession” papers and was forced to spend the night in a place termed “the tunnel” and ultimately sent back to her home country, but thankfully not some remote prison.

One waiter on Victory I was allegedly accused of child pornography based on a photo he posted of his infant son in a bassinet in 2008. Despite his informing the CBP agents that the image was of his own son, his visa was revoked and he was deported.

In another case, I was informed that “the CBP let one of the accused stay because he was an engineer and the ship would not have been able to leave port without him. The captain was told he better get a replacement as when the boat got back to Detroit, that engineer would be removed.”

My contact shared that “Crew morale is terrible. Some are thinking of leaving now while they still can. If too many leave, the boats can’t sail. Passenger mood is subdued. The captain has met with the passengers and crew. None of the crew is to talk to the media.”