US lawmakers denounce ‘toxic culture’ of maritime sexual abuse

US lawmakers have denounced a "toxic culture" of sexual abuse at America’s main school for merchant mariners, which they said has been allowed to fester unchallenged.

The lawmakers on Wednesday called on the Transportation Department to take action to address the reports of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment at the US Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), which works with major shipping lines to prepare new recruits for a life at sea, Reuters reported.

Senator Maria Cantwell, who chairs the Commerce Committee, said in a letter to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) that a large number of alleged incidents happened during midshipmen’s "Sea Year."

Junior midshipmen spend part of their academic year at sea and work on mostly private merchant marine vessels to learn firsthand skills. This time period is called “Sea Year.”

"Many of these allegations involve a repeated pattern of crimes and intimidations committed by people in positions of power and responsibility on merchant ships, and include alleged poor oversight or policy failures of USMMA officials and Coast Guard investigators," Cantwell wrote.

"This pattern of abuse in the maritime industry and the Sea Year program, in particular, has gone on far too long — we must reform the toxic culture that has allowed this problem to fester, and not stop until our seas are safe for everyone,” House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure chair Peter DeFazio and Salud Carbajal, chair of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation subcommittee, said in a joint statement.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), which is the world's largest shipping company, fired five employees as part of an inquiry into an alleged sexual assault on one of its ships. The firm also said it was working closely with American authorities.

A female cadet wrote in a blog post that she was a 19-year-old when a 60-year-old 1st Engineer raped her onboard the Maersk ship during Sea Year. The cadet has remained anonymous.

A MARAD spokesperson admitted the agency was aware of the alleged rape of the young cadet.

"We have zero tolerance for sexual assault and sexual harassment at USMMA and in the maritime industry," the spokesperson claimed.

The US military tolerates sexual harassment

More than a hundred thousand men have been sexually assaulted in the US military in the recent decades. The number of women in the military assaulted is also staggering.

The Coast Guard said it was "aware of an allegation of sexual assault which occurred aboard a U.S.-flagged commercial cargo vessel and is currently investigating."

Maersk Line Limited (MLL) is an America-based subsidiary of the A.P. Moller-Maersk group which is working with the US government to support the military, government, and humanitarian missions. The company has trained 732 cadets since 2017.

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