I Had to Quit the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy After I Was Subjected to Months of Horrific Sexual Harassment and Abuse During Sea Year. I’m a Man, and I Will No Longer Stay Silent.
*This account was submitted to MLAA by Craig Failla, a former student at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.*
Hello, I recently found your organization after reading a story online about a young female cadet who was sexually harassed at sea. Honestly, I really thought I was alone for all these years until I found your website. I too have a similar story dating back to the summer/fall of 1991. What is unique about my story is that I was not a female cadet, but a male, and I have stayed silent for over 30 years about my experience due to embarrassment and shame.
In the summer of 1991 I boarded the M/V Galveston Bay which was a P&O flagged vessel operated by Sea Land. My 1st month at sea was obviously hectic and overwhelming for a 19 year old with absolutely no maritime experience outside of what I was taught at the Academy. I was a quick learner and earned top evaluation scores from my Captain and Chief Mate. I was also an excellent cadet during my 1st year at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and received no demerits outside of any company demerits we may have earned. Additionally my GPA was a 2.64 while the freshman class average was a 1.6. I loved the academy, classmates and the experience I received during that 1st year. Academically and physically it was challenging but I was up to the challenge and was determined to succeed and eventually be a Naval Officer like my older brother.
My ship was on a 28 day rotation from Elizabeth NJ to England, France, Germany & Rotterdam. At the end of my 1st trip is when my experience turned into a nightmare. The Chief Mate was relieved by a new chief mate. He was a Kings Pointer with about 20 years sailing experience. His name was Barry. Starting on day one, I was awoken at about 03:00 to my phone ringing and the Chief Mate telling me to come to the bridge to “take stars.” I immediately got dressed, grabbed my sextant and made my way to the bridge to get a fix on our position as he requested. This became a nightly routine which would last until sunrise and then my day would begin doing various duties on the ship.
Most days I would only get 1-2 hours of sleep, but I can recall multiple times where I was up for more than 48 hours straight and barely able to function. Sleep deprivation was certainly a safety concern but I didn’t complain and my work ethic would not allow me to quit. What I was unaware of was this was a strategy to wear me down physically to allow him to make deals with me to get some breaks or allow me a full night sleep.
Initially it wasn’t transparent. First he invited me to his room to show me his rowing machine and told me if I wanted to use it just let him know. While we were in his room he showed me how the machine worked and then asked if I could rub his shoulder. I politely told him, “no sir”. He then told me he would rub my back if I wanted, which again I said, “no, thank you sir.” I told him I had to get back to work and then exited his room.
The sexual advances and touching continued for the next two months. He would come up behind me when I was sitting in a chair and touch my shoulders and frequently make comments about how perfect my body was, which I found very disturbing. My roommate was an engine cadet and frequently was gone at night. One evening while I was sleeping alone in my room I had an uneasy feeling, and when I opened my eyes the Chief Mate was standing over me. I jumped out of my bunk and asked what’s going on. He said it was a room inspection.
Day by day it got worse, and the more I pushed back, the worse he would make my life. It became so bad that I started to make a plan to kill him and throw his body overboard without getting caught. I had the entire thing worked out other than having the guts to actually see it through. I was a 19 year old kid with his whole life ahead of him, and planning a murder was not what I signed up for. In letters I pleaded with my parents that I wanted to quit, but I was embarrassed to discuss the details and I knew no one would believe me. Sexual harassment of a man is hardly spoken of today, and certainly not in 1991.
My parents, being proud parents of a son at a military academy, refused to listen to me and told me quitting would not be an option. They kept blaming this on me being homesick and wanting to see my girlfriend and the only people I counted on for support were not there when I needed them. So, I put up with this until the end of my time on that ship, which included nearly 2 full months of daily harassment.
Ultimately, after my 3rd rotation I was scheduled to get off and join a new ship. But after that experience I could no longer endure another day at sea and decided I would be quitting, no matter what the consequences would be with my family. I met Captain Finley and my parents aboard the vessel and told everyone at that point I would be quitting. They were all extremely shocked and encouraged me to stay due to my high scores and recommendation from the Captain. At no time did anyone ever ask about my safety or mental health.
For nearly two years after that my parents barely spoke a word to me and I had to work and pay my way to college on my own. Despite not being able to continue my education at Kings Point, I’ve had a very successful career and a wonderful family. But the experience still haunts me and I feel that I missed out on so many things that I wanted to do if I had been able to stay at the academy.
I know 99% of the cadets probably have wonderful experiences during Sea Year and go on to graduate and have great careers. I’ve kept in touch with several of my classmates and ponder what would have been different if I had done a different split or had a roommate that I knew better to help me. There are so many “what if’s.”
But for those 1% that have experiences like mine or worse, what recourse do we have? Our whole lives have forever been changed and the school we counted on keeping us safe only cared about kickbacks from the shipping companies and keeping things quiet.
I would love to help in any way I can to change the system and to permanently eliminate the Sea Year program from Kings Point. There are plenty of maritime academies that don’t send their best and brightest across the world by themselves to get properly trained. I believe this archaic and unsafe method should be eliminated once and for all.
I give full consent to share my story and you can use my name if you see fit as I no longer choose to stay quiet. It feels like a giant weight has been lifted now that I’ve put some of my experience on paper. Thank you.
—Craig Failla