How does one arrest a cruise ship?

After reading about the COVID epidemics, as well as the non-stop horror stories of sickness, isolation, and trouble on the seas, I was confident in my conclusion that cruises come from the Bad Place. My suspicions are now confirmed. Not the captains or the CEOs of the actual ships, but three Crystal Cruise Ships were arrested. How do you arrest a cruise vessel that has 900 passengers and boasts ten restaurants, a movie theatre, a club and a spa? It all began in January when the Crystal Symphony was arrested by a judge.

Fugitive ship was due to dock in Miami on Jan 22, but it instead headed to the Bahamas. This was after Crystal Cruises was sued for unpaid fuel bills. The suit claimed that the Crystal Symphony owed $1.2million, which was only one-fourth of Crystal Cruises’ $4.6 million debt. Crystal Symphony immediately issued an arrest warrant and sent the 300 passengers onboard to the U.S. via ferry, from the Bahamas to Florida, on January 23rd, as reported by CNN.

After more than a week of hiding in the Bahamas, the Crystal Symphony was boarded by authorities on Feb. 4, per cruise Hive. The captain issued this announcement. “The ship has been under arrest by local authorities for some unpaid bills and as terrible as it sounds, it’s actually quite good to happen. “This will not affect personnel movement,” we were told. Fortunately, there were no passengers aboard the ships, so only confused crew members must find a way home.
Another ship, the Crystal Serenity was on a quest for Aruba but was denied entry. It was forced to travel to the Bahamas, where it was also detained. After completing its trip through Argentina, a third ship, the Crystal Endeavor was also reportedly detained. Although it is not clear what will happen to these ships now that they have been taken into custody, Crystal Cruises seems to have completed their trip. According to the website of the organization, all ship operations have been suspended. There are reports that one of the ships may be sold in order to repay debt. Who knows if they will ride again.