Talk about an ICE-y reception!

While at the helm of a yacht owned by an NBA star, “Below Deck” star Captain Kerry Titherage found himself in a tense encounter with federal agents, including masked ICE officers, Page Six has learned.

We’re told he had just captained a nine-day trip in the Bahamas and was sailing back to Miami when one of the vessel’s four engines failed.

According to a salty source, about 10 miles off the Florida coast, a second engine failed, leaving Captain Kerry struggling to navigate increasingly rough waters.

He called emergency service Towboat US for assistance. But instead, he found himself approached by two federal vessels, one operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the other by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

We’re told one boat carried three or four agents while the other held seven or eight masked officers.

Insiders say the agents demanded he slow down and allow them to board. But Titherage, who has over 30 years of experience working on boats, refused. He worried that reducing speed and the rough conditions would be dangerous.

The federal boats tailed him for approximately two hours, we’re told, until Captain Kerry was able to slow down safely and they eventually boarded the yacht.

Agents searched the yacht for contraband and examined passengers’ passports, spending about an hour scrutinizing the visa of a female foreign national on board, before allowing the vessel to land.

A rep for Captain Kerry told Page Six, “We are glad the situation didn’t escalate and that everyone left safely.”

ICE didn’t respond to our request for comment.

The Captain made his reality TV debut on “Below Deck Adventure” in 2022 and took over for longtime star Captain Lee Rosbach from “Below Deck” in 2024. He’s steered the flagship ever since.