New reports claim that a cargo ship’s captain drugged two students at sea, raping one of them.
According to CNN, a cargo ship was sailing across the Atlantic Ocean when the captain summoned two young US Merchant Marine Academy cadets to his room and gave them each a drink. Shortly after, the students started feeling like something was wrong.
As the report suggests, citing information from a previously unreported complaint filed by the US Coast Guard, the captain had spiked their drinks. Once they were incapacitated, the captain raped one cadet and attempted to sexually assault the other.
The complaint was filed in August and was obtained by CNN through a records request, with the USCG saying that it started its recent investigation as soon as it learned of the cadets’ allegations in 2021.
What is more, USCG’s criminal investigations arm also conducted two separate probes, but that they are not being pursued for prosecution by the Department of Justice and are closed.
As for the captain of the ship, he denied the allegations in a filing with the Coast Guard.
Earlier this year, Maersk Line, Limited was hit with two lawsuits claiming that it failed to protect US Merchant Marine Academy midshipmen from sexual assault and harassment, according to the law firm representing two victims.
One of the victims was known as “Midshipman-X” after she anonymously shared her story about how she was raped by her superior on board a Maersk Line, Limited during her Sea Year training in 2019. The second lawsuit is the process of being refiled due to a procedural issue.
The complaints allege that Maersk failed to adequately protect U.S. Merchant Marine Academy midshipmen from sexual assault and sexual harassment while working aboard Maersk ships as part of the USMMA’s “Sea Year” program.
The first complaint was filed on behalf of Hope Hicks, a current USMMA student. Ms. Hicks shared how she was raped by her superior officer while serving as an engine cadet aboard a Maersk cargo ship.
