The allegations brought forward by a USMMA cadet are deeply troubling and should be taken seriously. M.E.B.A. believes sexual assault and sexual harassment is unacceptable in any context and will not be tolerated. M.E.B.A. fully supports a thorough, independent investigation into the matter and is cooperating with the Company regarding such investigation. M.E.B.A. is committed to working with its partners to ensure that our vessels are safe and respectful for all employees.
Adam Vokac
President
Marine Engineersâ Beneficial Association
During my 39 years as a licensed commercial mariner I often observed that alcohol abuse was the common element in bad things that happened on a ship; fights, injuries, poor job performance, etc. Pre-OPA90 the abuse was often overlooked by Captains, Chiefs and even Office Staff but post OPA90 and with the current rules in effect there is NO excuse to allow or permit alcohol aboard. During the many years I sailed as Master I believe I had an open door for the crew to bring any issues, I fervently hope that my own perception about that was correct. Those two issues are fundamental to keeping everyone safe at sea.
When I sailed with Maersk as master, THERE WAS A CULTURE about alcohol on the ships. Although the corporate line was âno alcoholâ, there was a knowing âsmile & nodâ about it. Iâd hope in the intervening 20 years, that it would have dissipated and disappear. Apparently it hasnât. Having a âdryâ ship took balls. I was much happier leaving M & sailing at lower levels and just minding my own business.
I wasnât going to post about this because I sailed only on one Maersk ship but the unwritten policy on that ship matched what you reported: âDonât ask donât tellâ.
One night, while we were moored in a South American port, the bosun was found cavorting in the cab of the big deck crane with a local woman and a bottle. He wasnât fired. It was well known by all on board that both he and the electrician kept stashes of liquor in their rooms.
With regards to the MEBA, they donât really have a dog in this fight .AFAIK Itâs Maersk that selects the Chief and 1st A/E. I wouldnât think that the union would have any obligation to help defend against federal charges. Thatâs one reason some unions reimburse for license insurance.
The captain might be a different case as that would presumably would be failure to enforce company policy,
Hey, how did this post devolve into alcohol being the problem? Iâm voting on rape being the problem. Was alcohol a contributing factor in this assault? Yes. BUTâŚrapists are going to use anything to have power over their victims. If the Midshipman had not been drunk, it would have been another situation where he got her alone. He had keys to her room, people. He was her supervisor. Alcohol just made his job easier and the other engineers on hand, that did not speak up, they also made it easier.
Iâd love to see you folks spend as much time talking about the asshats youâve sailed with that you have overhead speaking inappropriately, or demonstrating even worse behavior.
Because Iâm willing to bet that most of those statements or actions were âagainst policyâ, too, and yet you donât seem to be mentioning it. How are you ok with them representing our profession?
Guys, we canât do this without you. Start a real conversation, no matter how uncomfortable, if you are tired of sailing with misogynists, bullies, and yes, rapists.
I think alcohol was more than a contributing factor. I think it was the enabling factor. I am not convinced the 1st had already made up his mind to rape the cadet at some point during her time aboard.
" The 1st Assistant Engineer, a man in his 60âs, often made derogatory comments about women and told me early in the trip that â you should know your place, and it ainât out here. A womanâs place is in the home .â The 1st was my supervisor and the 2nd in command of the engine department, and I was afraid of him. He was creepy, made romantic passes at me and made crude and demeaning comments about me in front of other members of the engine department."
Do you think he only made those comments to her alone? Do you not think he shared his view with his shipmates? The kind of pervasive misogynistic BS is what leads to a culture where it becomes ok to push young midshipmen to drink. And it becomes ok to treat the woman as less than, because you know, she doesnât belong out there.
And I give zero effs about when he decided to rape her. He was always going to rape her, alcohol or not.
So, given that, what can YOU do? It is a lot easier to sit here and tsk tsk the abuse of alcohol than it is to say directly to a shipmate, âHey, we donât say that.â or âThatâs a bunch of bullshit, Firstâ, or âWe donât need to get these guys drunk, let them be.â, or âIâm not comfortable with this.â And if your reaction to that is anything other than, âHell yeahâ, youâre part of the problem.
I always knew it wouldnât be an issue until it came to cadets. When I talked about things people said I was a troublemaker even and especially other females in the industry even especially female deckies who have a whole different experience even especially the HR ladies in the office it doesnât matter if itâs a minority unlicensed
Apparently the U.S. Coast Guard has done a good job at stamping out assaults aboard Coast Guard cutterâs (but obviously a poor job on commercial ships). I talked to a person who helped develop the program they use.
He said, looking back, the biggest demographic they had trouble stamping out was ânice guyâ predators who premeditated their crimes. Often this type of predator would be really nice to his shipmates but would mercilessly harass a single individual. Sometimes even when the guy had significant evidence against him he would get protected because everyone thought he was âso niceâ.
I really hope the results of whatever investigation is done by the authorities is made public and not fade from view as peopleâs attention moves to the next headline. That said, someoneâs misogynistic BS is not ipso facto that he is actively planning a rape. No more than someone using the âNâ word is actively planning a lynching. Perhaps not quite an apples to apples analogy but close enough to be in the same basket. BTW, I do not consider either verbiage acceptable.
Would I have expected someone to have come down on this guys behavior (pre incident)? Yeah, the Chief in particular, or the Captain if he was aware. I reiterate my belief that alcohol was an enabling factor in this incident. Nor do I fault the victim.
By the way the blog sounds it, it would lead one to believe that purposely trying to get someone drunk that doesnât drink is something these people were well adept atâŚbut Iâll take the industry stance and say she is a troublemaker for bringing it up. What a troublemaker seems she had a hard time getting along with the first and the people on board. Obviously she has problems with rank and hierarchy. And the 1st engineer, he is needed! Way more important than a cadet! He knows the ship and that engine! He is a genius! No other can come close to his genius mind to get the ship to work like the other hundreds of ships on the water with engineers with engineering licenses just like his.
