After Publication of American Merchant Mariner’s Maersk Sexual Harassment Story, Danish Maritime Authority has Initiated an Investigation into Working Conditions at Sea.

Simon Kollerup, Danish Minister of Trade and Industry

Via: DR.DK, The National Broadcasting Corporation of Denmark

June 13, 2022

By: Flemming Brandt

Translated from Danish to English via Google Translate

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, Minister of Trade and Industry Simon Kollerup is now ordering the Danish Maritime Authority to carry out a study of the working conditions on all ships flying the Danish flag.

“You should not go to work and experience that you are being violated or bullied. And what we have witnessed in this case is quite terrible. It is entirely appropriate to ask for such a study, and we will then launch it,” Kollerup said.

The Minister of Trade and Industry praises AP Moller-Marsk for taking responsibility for itself and initiating their own investigation with interviews of the company's female employees who work at sea. But he still believes that the Danish Maritime Authority should help uncover the scope of the problem within the entire industry.

“A study is of course not medicine for this problem, but it is a mapping where we find out how widespread this is and where to intervene,” Kollerup said.

On the other hand, the Minister expects the shipping companies themselves to make a great effort to change the culture among the seafarers, so that the harassment at sea can be stopped.