Investigations

Multiple sources and public Reddit posts allege seawater entered the Training Ship Empire State VII's drinking-water system before cadets were told the water was safe and five licensed engineers reportedly walked off.

Finn Moran, a SUNY Maritime College student, was arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court on six charges, including attempted first-degree rape of a physically helpless person, following his July 2 arrest in connection with a July 1 incident. An anonymous tip submitted through MLAA’s tip line, and public posts circulating on Facebook and Reddit, describe an alleged sexual assault aboard the Training Ship Empire State VII while the ship was at the college’s own pier, one that, according to those accounts, was stopped when another cadet intervened. Moran pleaded not guilty and was released with non-monetary conditions. SUNY Maritime College has made no public statement.

A FOIA request by MLAA opened a 20-year record of NCIS sex-crime investigations tied to Military Sealift Command vessels. The archive now publishes 116 case files, source documents, and searchable case pages.

A federal judge found that Captain Mark Stinziano sexually abused a U.S. Merchant Marine Academy cadet. Congress gave the Coast Guard a tool to revoke his license. Instead, the Coast Guard gave it back to him.

In written submissions to Military Sealift Command, Captain Yamil Sanchez Padilla admitted to sexual intercourse with 1st Assistant Engineer Elsie Dominguez on the night she says he raped her—but the former Captain said...

The federal agency has filed formal charges against Captain Yamil Sanchez Padilla—the Military Sealift Command captain accused of sexually assaulting 1st Assistant Engineer Elsie E.

The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amends the landmark Safer Seas Act to define maritime “harassment” as discrimination, leaving pervasive shipboard bullying and psychological abuse outside the statute’s...

Two women who sued Crowley Maritime Corporation alleging violations of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPRA) weren’t trying to create new legal precedent.

This comprehensive investigation was written by Bartram Lewis and is based on years of legal advocacy, FOIA litigation, and survivor reporting led by maritime attorney Ryan Melogy, with investigative reporting by CNN...

Denise Rucker Krepp, a Coast Guard veteran, attorney, and former Chief Counsel of the U.S. Maritime Administration, has filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of the Navy, accusing senior leadership of the Naval History...

In a historic series of long-overdue enforcement actions driven by passage of the Safer Seas Act, the U.S.

On March 28, 2025, the Military Sealift Command (MSC) quietly acknowledged what survivors and advocates have long known: MSC had been intentionally failing to meet its legal obligation to report incidents of shipboard...

Maritime influencer Dr. Salvatore Mercogliano, whose influential voice reaches hundreds of thousands through his shipping-focused content, has publicly weighed in on the latest Maersk sexual harassment scandal,...

“Maersk is unusually silent when it comes to the extent of sexual harassment and assault on its many ships.

“A Maersk employee who was fired for sexual harassment was later rehired on one of the company’s own ships. Maersk – who has been suffering from cases of sexual harassment and rape – confirms that sex offenders in the U.

(see Links to trial documents: Testimony of the victim, the Openings statement of the Prosecution and the Opening statement of the Defense, Jury Verdict Sheet).

The case centres on allegations that Stinziano sexually harassed a deck cadet onboard the 4,658-teu container ship Maersk Idaho (built 2000) in 2014 and 2015 by groping his buttocks and grabbing him from behind while...

NEW BEDFORD — Four days after the head of NOAA issued a sweeping order to overhaul and repair the Asset Forfeiture Fund, a New York senator demanded on Monday that NOAA cease using the fund and start making plans to...

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has launched an administrative investigation into allegations of harassment and hostile work environment involving Shannon Norenberg, the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) at...

On Wednesday night Shannon Norenberg, the whistleblowing U.S. Coast Guard Academy SARC, announced that she no longer intends to resign from her position at the Academy, and accused Coast Guard leader Linda Fagan of...

NEW LONDON, Conn.—There appears to more trouble on the horizon for the United States Coast Guard Academy in the form of a “historic financial misconduct” scandal after the Academy’s External Affairs Officer told...

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The U.S. Coast Guard Academy recently established a process to revoke honorary awards and other permanent institutional recognition given to members who are later found to have committed serious...

As MLAA has previously reported, in a scathing letter sent to embattled Coast Guard leader Linda Fagan by Senator Ted Cruz regarding Cruz’s ongoing investigation into the Operation Fouled Anchor coverups, Senator Cruz...

If you’ve ever been interviewed during a Coast Guard investigation, you may have been asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or been advised that you shouldn’t discuss certain matters without prior approval.

R 181400Z APR 24 MID120001035244U FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC TO ALCOAST BT UNCLAS ALCOAST 175/24 SSIC 5863 SUBJ: CLARIFICATION REGARDING WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION AND NON-DISCLOSURE POLICIES, FORMS, OR AGREEMENTS A.

On November 1, 2023 President Joe Biden nominated 80 Coast Guard officers serving as Commanders (O-5) for promotion to Captain (O-6).

Following a scathing letter sent to embattled Coast Guard leader Linda Fagan by Senator Ted Cruz regarding Cruz’s ongoing investigation into the Operation Fouled Anchor coverups, President Biden has withdrawn his...

According to records my staff recently received, the United States Coast Guard (Coast Guard) has illegally prohibited personnel, including victims of sexual assaults, from disclosing to Congress information about those...

As the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee considers the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2024, it is our understanding that you and your colleagues are being asked to include provisions that would...

The Honorable Admiral Linda Fagan Commandant U.S. Coast Guard 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE Washington, D.C. 20593

The U.S. Coast Guard ALJ Court System, which is responsible for punishing predatory mariners, has sunk to a new low of dysfunction and embarrassment.

a. The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to provide a framework for cooperation and mutual support among the Maritime Administration, United States Department of Transportation (MARAD), the Kings Point...

January 13, 2023: This post-remand brief is one of two filed with the corrupt, disgraced, misogynistic, and discredited U.S.

January 13, 2023: This post-remand brief was filed with the corrupt, disgraced, misogynistic, and discredited U.S.

Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Demands Swift Response to Inquiry into Sexual Assault & Harassment at the Coast Guard Academy

“Recently, it was reported to Congress that Operation Fouled Anchor, a USCG investigation into sexual abuse allegations at the U.S.

The tragic, sickening, decade-long saga of USCG vs. Stinziano, which paved the way for Midshipman-X and a maritime industry reckoning on sexual misconduct—continues.

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Graduate Elsie E. Dominguez has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S.

In the case of Richard Toliongco vs. Anglo Eastern Crew Mgt. (G.R. No. 231748, July 8, 2020), the Supreme Court of the Philippines stressed that sexual harassment should not be merely seen as a gender issue, but instead...

Voiles et Voiliers: How did you come up with the idea of ​​creating the Facebook group Naviguer au Féminin en Sécurité / Sailing Safely for Women in spring 2021?

On November 13, 2023 the U.S. Coast Guard issued Policy Letter 23-05 to provide the maritime community with guidance on the implementation of the revolutionary new audio/video surveillance safety requirements for...

Through her bravery, Hope Hicks changed the maritime industry forever, and “Midshipman-X” has become a widely acknowledged line in the sand that will be remembered for decades as the turning point that led to historic...

An academy graduate and merchant mariner himself, 39-year-old Ryan Melogy never imagined he would become a one-man watchdog for the maritime industry.

Beginning in April 2023, Coast Guard Officers in Charge, Marine Inspections (OCMI) began a year-long education and outreach campaign to maritime industry personnel on the requirements and preferred mechanisms for an...

MLAA thanks Leila Gold for her contributions to the safety of yachting crew around the world and for her contributions to the new ISWAN yacht crew safety resource.

This is to advise you that we have completed our investigation of the above-referenced complaint filed by [REDACTED] (Complainant) against Maersk Line Limited (Respondent) on June 22, 2021, under the Seaman’s Protection...

A PDF version of the official “FOULED ANCHOR COMMAND ACCOUNTABILITY DISPOSITION DECISION AND COMPLETION OF CONSOLIDATED DISPOSITION AUTHORITY DUTIES” is available here.

Also Read: “An Epic Sexual Assault Scandal, 30 Years in the Making, is Coming for the U.S. Coast Guard. This FOIA Request is only the Beginning.

Edgar Torrecampo Sison, the licensed marine engineer accused of raping Midshipman-X in an infamous maritime sex crime that set off the #Maritime MeToo Movement, has lawyered-up and will fight the U.S.

Vessel companies and the federal academy that trains mariners for the industry are facing new requirements to address sexual harassment and assault, as more victims come forward with harrowing allegations of abuse by...

After serious cases from Maersk that sent tremors through the shipping industry, a new global report reveals how a large number of women have been subjected to coercive assault and harassment.

In a decision with major consequences for Coast Guard-credentialed mariners, the Chief Judge of the Coast Guard’s controversial ALJ court ruled the newly-enacted “Safer Seas Act” has eliminated the statute of limitations...

In November of 2022 the U.S. Coast Guard filed Suspension & Revocation charges against Captain McCann’s license and merchant mariner credential (MMC) related to allegations that McCann sexually harassed Chief Cook Ashley...

Under the Coast Guard’s standard Settlement Agreement terms for credentialed mariners who fail a drug test, even for marijuana, the Coast Guard forces mariners to accept Settlement Agreements that require a 15 month...

Despite public outrage and unprecedented Congressional legislative action following the bombshell Midshipman-X maritime sexual abuse revelations, the U.S.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act makes it a federal crime to “to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, sexually harass, bribe, or interfere with any [fisheries] observer on a...

MLAA has filed two separate 3rd party “tipster” reports to the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) via the agency’s CGIS Tips app related to information contained in an April 13, 2023 report published in the LA...

Less than a year after Captain Mark Stinziano’s Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) was suspended by a U.S.

According to a new CNN Report, the US Coast Guard has filed administrative Suspension & Revocation (S&R) charges against mariner Edgar Sison, who was accused of rape by former U.S.

Justice Capsized.

CNN has published the name of the mariner accused of raping Midshipman-X, an infamous maritime sex crime that has set off what is now being called the #MaritimeMeToo Movement.

Judge Jeffie Massey served as a Coast Guard Administrative Law Judge from 2004 to 2007, famously blew the whistle on corruption within the Coast Guard court and publicly clashed with the court’s chief justice after she...

Hundreds of tugboat captains, charter fishermen and other professional mariners face charges of negligence or misconduct every year under the U.S.

Whistleblower Judge Portrays Coast Guard ALJ Court as Corrupt System Where Justice Was a Charade

Here: A video clip from U.S. Coast Guard leader Linda Fagan, given on March 8, 2023 during her annual “State of the Coast Guard” speech:

Samuel Sullivan Irvin, III graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in 1979. 11 years later, in 1990, Captain Jennifer Williams, USCG (Ret.) graduated from the same Academy and was commissioned into the U.

According to documents and victim statements contained in one of the most expansive U.S. Coast Guard Suspension & Revocation investigations ever conducted by the Coast Guard, Samuel Sullivan Irvin, III was a prolific...

The Coast Guard has released Marine Safety Information Bulletin 01-23 “Reporting sexual Misconduct on U.S.

June 30, 2020: MLAA’s 1st Blog Post: “An Epic Sexual Assault Scandal, 30 Years in the Making, is Coming for the U.S. Coast Guard. This FOIA Request is only the Beginning.”

On April 20, 2022, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) of the United States Coast Guard issued a Decision and Order (D&O), finding proved three charges of misconduct against the Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) of...

“Gender at Sea,” a multi-authored, multinational book focusing on women in maritime life has recently been published in the Netherlands. According to the publisher:

A Navy reservist has been charged with peering into the rooms of female shipmates and secretly recording video of them in private moments, according to a complaint filed in San Diego federal court.

According to records obtained by MLAA via the Freedom of Information Act, on March 11, 2018 at approximately 1800 hours the USNS MERCY was underway to Guam from Hawaii.

The Safer Seas Act

A disturbing case of harassment sent shock waves through Maersk last year. Since then, several infringement cases have appeared.

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Appoints 1st Female Superintendent as School Continues to Deal with the Fallout of the Midshipman-X & Captain John Merrone Sea Year rape scandals.

In what may be the first Suspension & Revocation case of its kind, the U.S. Coast Guard has formally charged a female mariner with sexually harassing and molesting a male crewmember, and the agency is seeking the...

2) Why hasn’t Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, arrested and prosecuted Captain Merrone, and why has Peace now changed his story about the timeline of the case?

The downfall of accused serial rapist Captain John Merrone continues to progress at a swift pace. On October 7, 2022 CNN published a bombshell story titled “Ship captain allegedly drugged two students at sea, raped one...

On October 23, 2022 MLAA reported the U.S. Coast Guard had filed Suspension & Revocation charges alleging shipboard sexual misconduct against a mariner who was employed by Crowley Maritime Corporation at the time the...

In July 2022 U.S. Coast Guard Captain Jason Neubauer—longtime Chief of the USCG Safety Office—announced that the Coast Guard was investigating at least 20 concurrent sexual misconduct cases involving USCG-credentialed...

Victims of serial rapist Captain John Merrone are represented by maritime attorney Ryan Melogy (Ryan@Justice4Mariners.com)

[January 5, 2023 / Edit: The Safer Seas Act was signed into law by President Biden on December 27, 2022 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023.

The following resolution has been edited in this instance to conform with the 'no publicity for candidates' policy in place during an American Maritime Officers election cycle.

[January 5, 2023 / Edit: The Safer Seas Act was signed into law by President Biden on December 27, 2022 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023.

Once again, Maersk is releasing leading employees in the carrier’s US subsidiary, Maersk Line Limited, following cases of harassment.

At 18, the United States Merchant Marine Academy sent her to the M/V Alliance Fairfax, a vessel the Danish shipping company Maersk sails loaded with vehicles.

Defendant the United States Coast Guard (“USCG” or “Defendant”), by its attorney, Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, hereby answers the Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory...

On June 28, 2002 MLAA filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Coast Guard seeking records related to the Coast Guard’s enforcement of laws and regulations against sexual misconduct in the U.S. maritime industry.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s decades-long policy of enabling widespread sexual abuse by pretending sexual harassment and sexual assault are not major safety issues affecting the U.S.

An investigation conducted by a Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) “Assessment Team” determined the Medical Services Officer (MSO) aboard the USNS PECOS “sexually molested” at least two “young women” aboard the...

Merchant Mariner Arne Gunnar Svendsen submitted a renewal application for his Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) to the U.S. Coast Guard through the Regional Exam Center (REC) in New Orleans, Louisiana.

DAMIAN WILLIAMS United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York By: LUCAS ISSACHAROFF Assistant United States Attorney 86 Chambers Street, 3rd Floor New York, New York 10007 Tel.

U.S. Coast Guard-licensed mariner Andrew Betnar of Warrenton, Oregon was found guilty of 199 counts of “encouraging child sexual abuse” in the Clatsop County Circuit Court in the state of Oregon.

A 7 month suspension, negotiated while the mariner was doing “hard labor” inside a Louisiana prison after being convicted of Sexual Battery: that was the incredible deal U.S.

According to the Secret Settlement Agreement he signed with the U.S. Coast Guard, Merchant Mariner Richard J.

On Friday July 23, 2022 Maersk Captain Mark Stinziano’s defense attorney William Hewig, III filed a Reply Brief in response to the Appellate Brief U.S. Coast Guard prosecutors filed on June 17, 2022.

To read a profile of Maersk Captain and Serial Sexual Predator Samuel Sullivan Irvin, III as well as tragic statements written by victims of his shipboard sexual abuse, visit this page.

This U.S. Coast Guard Suspension & Revocation Decision was never released to the public by the U.S. Coast Guard ALJ as required by federal law.

For MLAA’s comprehensive July 14, 2022 FOIA Request to Military Sealift Command, click here. For information regarding MLAA’s ongoing FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Coast Guard, click here.

On July 14, 2022 Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy (MLAA) announced an investigation into sexual misconduct within the U.S.

This case involves a seafarer who was sexually harassed during the course of his employment on board the M/V Mineral Water. On February 23, 2014, Toliongco was deployed aboard the vessel M/V Mineral Water.

According to public documents available on the New York State Courts Electronic Docket, Danish shipping giant Maersk has hired one of the world’s largest and most expensive law firms to defend the company in a pair of...

This letter constitutes a request under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and is submitted on behalf of Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy (“MLAA”) to the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (“MSC”).

Policymakers in Washington have again turned their scrutiny upon the U.S.-flag fleet and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point in the wake of new allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment ("SASH")...

More than nine months after the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) launched a criminal investigation into sexual assault allegations made by Midshipman-X in her now-famous blog post, MLAA has learned the...

Michael Berkow, the former director of the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS), abruptly and unexpectedly left his job on December 31, 2021. Rumors have been swirling ever since.

On Tuesday June 28, 2002 MLAA filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Coast Guard seeking records related to the Coast Guard’s enforcement of laws and regulations against sexual misconduct in the U.S. maritime industry.

1. This is an action under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552, for injunctive, declaratory, and other appropriate relief, seeking the release of agency records requested by Plaintiff Maritime Legal...

INVESTIGATION In France as elsewhere, young women dare to testify, to evoke the agonizing camera of certain boats and the violence of hazing practices.

Jennifer A. Mehaffey, Esq Suspension and Revocation National Center of Expertise 100 Forbes Drive Martinsburg, WV 25404 Phone: 304-433-3541

A SITUATION from within the shipping industry spilled into mainstream newsfeeds last week. This is a rare phenomenon that only occurs when stories are big enough or dire enough to break through the surface of the...

I am deeply honoured to be with you today for your commencement from one of the finest maritime academies in the world. And I am thrilled to be a shipmate with this esteemed class.

Søren Skou has a problem. A problem with men violating women at sea. That much is clear to the top executive of A.P.

Comments on Midshipman-X Story From Around the Internet (June 23, 2022).

MLAA’s original complaint in the case focused on MARAD’s refusal to turn over records related to incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault against USMMA students participating in the Academy’s Sea Year program.

Two women are now suing Maersk, accusing the Danish shipping group of not taking responsibility and doing enough to prevent more cases of rape and sexual harassment .

Following DR's revelation of how a Maersk-employed female chef was sexually harassed by the ship's captain, and then Maersk's fleet commander later admitted that the company has a problem with abusive behavior at sea,...

AP Møller-Mærsk has started interviewing its more than 350 female seafarers. The descriptions and scope of infringement cases have surprised the shipping company.

Maersk is on its way with a number of significant changes to stop the harassment that female seafarers have experienced on the company's ships.

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).

On a 1,000-foot cargo ship in the middle of the ocean, the 19-year-old student felt trapped. Trapped by the crew member she said sexually harassed and groped her, and trapped by the academy that sent her there.

The crew members cheered when the 19-year-old cadet — the only woman on the ship — walked into the cigarette-smoke-filled stateroom. Drink with us, she recalled them saying, and you can have tomorrow off work.

On Monday May 23, 2022 MLAA wrote to U.S. Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips respectfully requesting that Phillips finally release important records relating to the USMMA Sea Year program that MARAD has been illegally...

During an April 27, 2022 hearing before the House Transportation Committee’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, MARAD Deputy Administrator Lucinda Lessley committed Ann Phillips, her agency’s new...

Today, on behalf of our organization, and via the procedures outlined in the Federal Register concerning nominations of members to the United States Merchant Marine Academy Advisory Council (the “Council”), I nominated...

This letter constitutes an Appeal under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552, and is submitted to the United States Coast Guard (“USCG”) by Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy, Ltd. (“MLAA”).

Maersk Coverup

This letter constitutes a request under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and seeks to narrow and clarify the scope of an existing FOIA Request (FOIA 2020-CGFO-01886).

In this series (USCG vs. Stinziano) MLAA explores the more than 7 year history of the most high profile and controversial shipboard sexual misconduct case in U.S. Coast Guard history.

MLAA has learned that U.S. Coast Guard prosecutors have filed an official “Notice of Appeal” in the case of U.S. Coast Guard vs. Mark Steven Stinziano.

US Coast Guard judge declines to strip Maersk Line Ltd captain of his licence, even after finding he assaulted a deck cadet on numerous occasions

Captain Richard T. Hinson is a U.S. Coast Guard-licensed ship captain. He pulls and pushes huge barges all around the east coast of the United States, has crew members who must obey his orders, and carries a great deal...

This letter constitutes a request under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and is submitted on behalf of Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy (“MLAA”) to the United States Maritime Administration (“MARAD”).

The purpose of the Maritime Security Program is to maintain “a fleet of active, commercially viable, privately owned vessels to meet national defense and other security requirements and to maintain a United States...

A Maersk Line Ltd (MLL) captain is in danger of losing his license over sexual misconduct, while the AP Moller-Maersk subsidiary appeared to rush to his defence against one of his accusers and the US Coast Guard.

On September 6, 2016 disgraced union leader Donald Marcus, the long-time President of the International Organization of Masters, Mates, & Pilots labor union (MMP), signed a now-infamous letter to the U.S.

It sent shockwaves through the country's largest company, AP Moller-Maersk, when, in October, a 19-year-old American female cadet described that she had been raped on board one of Maersk's ships.

MLAA has learned that the Hell-Ship where Midshipman-X was sexually harassed and brutally sexually assaulted by her 1st Assistant Engineer was the M/V Alliance Fairfax, operated by Maersk Line, Limited.

This public statement by James Patrick O’Connor was originally posted to a USMMA Alumni Facebook page on July 13, 2016 during the 1st “Sea Year Stand Down.” This version has been edited for length.

The Long, Tragic History of 46 USC 10104, AKA “The Federal Shipboard Sexual Assault Allegation Reporting Law,” AKA “The Skipper Reporting Law.”

I served as Second Mate aboard the M/V Maersk Idaho, a container ship operated by Maersk Line, from November 26, 2014 through February 3, 2015.

In the wake of the Midshipman-X scandal, the U.S. Department of Transportation has forced the leadership of the United States Merchant Marine Academy to promulgate a new blanket drug and alcohol amnesty policy for...

Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy (MLAA) is pleased to announce the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has designated MLAA as a Tax-Exempt Public Charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

After extensive research into recent case law surrounding the federal “Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA),” MLAA has determined that American shipping companies who have continued to employ mariners after those...

I wish to remain anonymous, so much so that I cannot use my real email. If you want to get to the bottom of the USMMA issues related to women in general, you must examine the treatment of women employed by the Academy.

This letter constitutes a request under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and is submitted on behalf of Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy (“MLAA”) to the United States Department of Transportation (“DOT”).

This letter constitutes a request under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and is submitted on behalf of Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy (“MLAA”) to the United States Department of Transportation (“DOT”).

This letter constitutes a Grievance per the dispute resolution provisions of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association and Crowley Maritime Corporation (Crowley) for...

The recently released “Comprehensive Assessment of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy,” authored by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), contains a legal conclusion that offers powerful new remedies for...

*This Op-Ed was originally submitted to MLAA as a comment to a previous Op-Ed by the author, who claims to be a member of the USMMA Class of 1978. MLAA does not know the author’s identity*

Last week a letter signed by a number of current USMMA midshipman opposing the current “Sea Year pause” circulated around the Kings Point campus and throughout the maritime industry.

In a stunning policy letter sent to all Maersk Line, Limited captains in the wake of outrage over Maersk’s Midshipman-X scandal, Ed Hanley, Vice President of Labor, has instructed Maersk captains and senior officers who...

On November 3, 2020, the United States Coast Guard Hearing Office issued a Preliminary Assessment Letter (PAL) to Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) notifying the company that it was facing a fine of $10,000 for a violation of...

Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) has worked hard to protect USMMA students from sexual harassment and assault at the Academy & at sea, but she’s a politician 1st, & she has unfortunately become part of the problem we...

Two weeks after sending an absolutely blistering letter to Acting and Flailing Maritime Administrator Lucinda Lessley that demanded answers to allegations of rape, rampant unchecked sexual violence, and oversight and...

We are very concerned with the recent allegations of sexual assault by a female cadet at the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) during her Sea Year experience in 2019.

After more than two years of legal battles with the U.S. Coast Guard over documents related to the USCG’s lack of enforcement of laws against sexual misconduct in the U.S.

Finally, oh finally, someone with the power to investigate the cycle of ghastly sexual abuse that runs quietly and like clockwork through the U.S.

As the worst sexual misconduct scandal to ever hit the U.S. maritime industry approaches its boiling point, Maersk Line, Limited has upped the ante in its scorched-earth campaign to deflect blame for its decades-long...

In a precedent-setting Enforcement Action, the U.S. Coast Guard recently fined major U.S. defense contractor Maersk Line, Limited $10,000 in connection with coverups of shipboard sexual assaults involving cadets from the...

In a policy move that represents a radical sea change in the way the entire U.S. maritime industry will soon be forced to handle the issue of shipboard sexual misconduct, the U.S.

As the United States Coast Guard and other federal law enforcement agencies begin taking a much harder line against shipboard sexual misconduct, there is one crucial legal fact to consider: there is no statute of...

As Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy (MLAA) continues the lonely fight to bring transparency to the U.S. Coast Guard’s shameful record of (not) enforcing laws and regulations against sexual misconduct committed by...

Today MLAA filed MARAD FOIA Request #3 seeking records of the USMMA Advisory Board. According to the Department of Transportation, “the USMMA Advisory Board serves as an independent body whose primary purpose is to...

According to documents obtained by Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy (MLAA) from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) via the Freedom of Information Act, in 2018 a Cadet at the Texas A&M Maritime Academy at Galveston was convicted of...

According to documents obtained by Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy (MLAA) from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) via the Freedom of Information Act, a USCG licensed Merchant Marine Officer who was convicted on child molestation...

According to documents obtained by Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy (MLAA) from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) via the Freedom of Information Act, a USCG-licensed ship captain charged with rape and convicted of sexual battery...

FOIA Officer U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration Second Floor, West Building 1200 New Jersey Av., SE, MAR-221 Washington DC 20590

Due to the repeated and intentional failures of the George Rhynedance, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s Designated Federal Officer (DFO), to comply with federal law regarding the public disclosure of information...

This letter constitutes an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. § 552, and is submitted to the United States Coast Guard ("USCG") by Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy, Ltd. (“MLAA”).

Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy (MLAA) has filed an administrative appeal with the Commandant of the U.S.

This letter constitutes an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. § 552, and is submitted to the United States Coast Guard ("USCG") by Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy, Ltd. (“MLAA”).

According to documents obtained by Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy via the Freedom of Information Act, within the past 30 years not a single allegation of sexual assault has been reported to the United States Coast Guard...

According to documents obtained by Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy via the Freedom of Information Act, within the past 5 years the Captain of a U.S.

According to documents obtained by Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy through the Freedom of Information Act, on April 18, 2016 a U.S.

The Department of Shipboard Training at the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) is in a state of turmoil, and a DOT OIG investigation of the very sad events that have led to this current state of crisis is...

I am calling on you to launch an investigation into the possible coverup of the sexual assault of a USMMA student during the Academy's Sea Year by a USCG credentialed mariner.

This public statement by James Patrick O’Connor was originally posted to the USMMA Alumni Facebook page on July 13, 2016 during the 1st “Sea Year Stand Down.”

Your best interests and the best interests of your Academy Training Representative (ATR) are not aligned.

It all begins with an idea.