Statement from Midshipman-X: “Suspending Sea Year will not fix the maritime industry’s toxic culture, and we should not surrender the ships of the U.S. Merchant Marine to sexual predators.”

To: The Kings Point Community

From: Midshipman-X

Re: Opposition to Sea Year Suspension

03 November 2021

Kings Point Community,

A little more than a month ago I wrote and published an account of the sexual assault that I experienced aboard a commercial vessel during Sea Year. I was only 19 years old when I was assaulted by a man who held tremendous power over my life, and I’m not much older now. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I always try to hold my head high and not allow things to get to me, but what happened to me on that ship BROKE ME. I experienced so much shame for such a long time after that happened to me, and because I got drunk, I almost felt like I deserved to have it happen.

I didn’t report the assault because I was too embarrassed and afraid to report it, and because I didn’t think anyone would believe me, because “nobody ever believes the drunk girl.” Being taken advantage of like that made me completely feel weak and hopeless, and I spent years trying to recover from the trauma. Eventually I realized that what happened to me wasn’t my fault, and that I have nothing to be embarrassed about. Now, I will always continue to hold my head high.

When I returned to the Academy and became a Victim’s Advocate, I was shocked to learn how many other women at the Academy had endured similar experiences during their time at sea. Two years after my assault, I was finally ready to tell my story, and I shared my story publicly in order to show others that they weren’t alone, and to hopefully create some positive change.

But the huge amount of attention my story has received was not something I ever anticipated. While it has been rewarding to hear the conversations around real change that have been happening in the wake of my story, the past month has been a very difficult experience for me. And the pressure and scrutiny I have been experiencing was dramatically increased by the recent announcement that Sea Year will be suspended for the foreseeable future. 

It was never my goal to see Sea Year suspended, and I want to make it clear to the entire Kings Point Community that I strongly disagree with the decision to suspend the Sea Year program. Shipping out on commercial vessels as a cadet is an invaluable experience, and Sea Year is essential to the Academy’s mission of producing the next generation of leaders for our vital industry. While I strongly believe that major changes are needed to make the maritime industry safe for cadets and other mariners, I do not believe that shutting down the Sea Year program will do anything to fix the toxic culture of unpunished sexual harassment and sexual assault that plagues the U.S. maritime industry.

I also do not believe that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, with their powers combined, have the ability to fix the problems that make the maritime industry unsafe for cadets and other mariners. And so it does not make sense to me that we would shut down the Sea Year program while we wait for a public plan from the DOT that we know will not solve the problems. We have already gone down that road, and if anything were accomplished by the first Sea Year suspension, it was only that the problems grew worse.

In my opinion, we must face this issue squarely and honestly. With respect to the experience of cadets at sea, the only things that the Academy can do are take reports of harassment and assault seriously, make serious efforts to help students hold perpetrators accountable through the criminal justice system, and provide support for victims. And the Academy must make major changes to its reporting policies so that cadets are empowered to report any and all incidents that occur at sea without any fear of retribution, and without any fear of not being believed.

But the Academy (and DOT/MARAD), and have zero control over what happens at sea. These entities have no control over who is allowed to work on these vessels, or over whether or not perpetrators are ultimately held accountable for their actions and removed from the industry. We all know there are people in this industry who have been reported for very serious forms of sexual harassment and sexual assault, and who were kicked off their ships or fired by their companies, but then allowed to remain members of their labor unions and to simply join another ship. We know there are people in this industry who have been credibly accused of rape, only to suffer zero consequences, or even serious investigation of their actions.

This lack of real legal accountability for sexual predators in the maritime industry, and the almost total absence of regulatory oversight on this issue, has perpetuated an endless cycle of harassment and abuse in this industry, and has further fueled the maritime industry’s toxic culture. But again, it’s not a problem the DOT/MARAD/USMMA can do anything to solve. What we need is for the U.S. Coast Guard to become deeply involved in this issue. 

Sexual misconduct in the maritime industry, specifically the issue of sexual assault, must be treated as a major safety issue by the Coast Guard. If the Coast Guard were to treat sexual assault as seriously as it treats the issue of oil pollution, I believe we would see an overnight change in the culture of the maritime industry and a dramatic reduction in sexual harassment and sexual assault at sea. The U.S. Coast Guard, not DOT/MARAD/USMMA, is the only agency that can solve these problems, and so I call on the Kings Point Community to use their collective power to push for the Coast Guard to take dramatic and immediate action on this critical safety issue.

When we ship out as cadets for the first time, we enter the maritime industry. It’s the same industry that is waiting for us a few years later when we graduate from the Academy, and it is filled with the exact same problems and the same problematic people. If every cadet is removed from the industry, then yes, cadets won’t be assaulted on ships. But other mariners will still be assaulted, recent graduates of the Academy will still be assaulted, and nothing will have changed. 

As Kings Pointers, we should not surrender the ships of the U.S. merchant marine to sexual predators. We should instead be focused on ruthlessly eliminating these predators, and the people and groups who enable and defend them, from the maritime industry forever. We don’t need to shut down the Sea Year program to embark upon that mission.

I ask you all to deeply consider what I have written here, and know that I am not only speaking for myself, but for the young generation of mariners at the Academy and in our industry. 

Very Respectfully,

Midshipman-X

USMMA Class of 2022