A US federal judge has extended the suspension of a former AP Moller-Maersk officer accused of abusive sexual contact in a decade-old case but stopped short of rescinding the seafarer’s licence.
The decision against Captain Mark Stinziano, who worked as a chief mate on a container ship in the Danish shipping giant’s Maersk Line Ltd (MLL) fleet, comes more than a year after the US Coast Guard’s vice commandant ordered the agency’s in-house legal system to have another look at the case.
The latest ruling by Coast Guard administrative law judge George Jordan extended Stinziano’s suspension to 12 months, up from the original four-month suspension by a prior judge, on a finding that he committed abusive sexual contact. Stinziano, whose lawyer could not be reached for this story, has denied the allegations against him.
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 simulating sex acts without his consent. The cadet was a US Merchant Marine Academy student serving his year at sea at the time of the incident.
After administrative law judge Michael Devine determined that the actions amounted only to “hazing” and not abusive sexual contact, vice commandant Steven Poulin sent the case back on appeal, concluding that the judge may have erred in his conclusion.
Jordan was assigned the case after Devine retired. According to a redacted copy of the decision obtained by TradeWinds, Jordan described Stinziano’s alleged touching of the cadet in the context of behaviour that the judge described as creating a hostile environment for the student. Jordan cited an array of alleged actions by the chief mate — including comments about raping other cadets, calling the unnamed cadet “buttercake” and making the student smell a pen that Stinziano claimed to have inserted in his buttocks — that he said created a hostile environment.
“Within the context of behavior described above it appears respondent committed the touching of the deck cadet’s buttocks and the simulated sex acts with the conscious objective to humiliate, harass and degrade the deck cadet,” the judge wrote.
Jordan also found that the actions violated MLL anti-harassment policy. A spokesman for Maersk, the US-flag operator’s Danish parent, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ryan Melogy, who worked as a seafarer on the Maersk Idaho at the time and is now a lawyer, described the judge’s decision as “vindication” after he blew the whistle on Stinziano’s alleged behaviour.
“This represents an enormous step forward for safety at sea,” he said. Melogy now advocates for seafarers through his Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy. He added that he did not want to gloss over the fact that Stinziano received what the lawyer described as a “ridiculous” punishment.
Because Stinziano has already served four months of suspension, he will only have to serve the eight remaining months. He has also served four months of the 12 months of probation.
The judge ruled against the revocation of Stinziano’s licence.
Although the vice commandant’s decision came after the 2022 Safer Seas Act rules sexual harassment and assault as grounds for revocation of a mariner’s licence, Jordan said that Coast Guard prosecutors did not amend their complaint to take the new law into account.
While the case has dragged on for 10 years since the alleged incidents, the decision appeared to leave the door open for an amended complaint.