WASHINGTON – The Navy will begin installing security cameras in passageways of 100 civilian-run ships in June to deter sexual assault and harassment following multiple accusations of rape at sea.
The security cameras, which are required to record video and audio, will be placed in passageways to view the doors of the crew’s staterooms aboard Military Sealift Command ships, according to memo dated March 27. Titled “Safer Seas Act Implementation,” the memo was sent to masters, chief engineers and shore staff last week by the command, which operates 125 Navy-owned ships that are crewed by civilians for the purpose of replenishing warships at sea.
“These efforts are intended to prevent sexual assault and sexual harassment in the U.S. maritime industry,” according to memo.
The Safer Seas Act is legislation that mandated significant changes for owners and operators of U.S.-flagged commercial service vessels, notably creating new reporting procedures for sexual assault and harassment incidents. The act also empowers the U.S. Coast Guard to revoke or suspend the credentials of those found guilty of sexual misconduct offenses.
An installation schedule outlines security cameras will be installed first on the USNS Guadalupe and USNS Arctic in June.
The plan is to install cameras on three ships per month, according to a Dec. 9 memo ordering the implementation by Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, the commander of the Military Sealift Command. But beginning in August, installation will increase to six ships per month.
The installation effort is expected to be complete by July 2028 but could be accelerated to December 2026 if installation increases to six ships per month. Installation priority will be given to ships housing the most mariners, according to the December memo.
The Safer Seas Act was enacted as part of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, an annual law that sets priorities and spending for the Defense Department. The law was in response to an accusation of rape in September 2021 aboard the U.S.-flagged commercial vessel hosting a Merchant Marine Academy midshipman. Hope Hicks’ account of being raped by a supervisor in 2019 while participating in the academy’s “Sea Year” program rocked the maritime industry, igniting calls for civilian mariner protections, according to multiple news reports.
The maritime industry was still experiencing shockwaves from Hicks’ lawsuit when Elsie Dominguez, a civilian engineer, sued the U.S. government in 2023, claiming she was raped by a supervisor, and it could have been prevented with adequate security and safety policies. The lawsuit filed by Dominguez argues security cameras aboard the USNS Carson City did not capture her captain using his master key to access her stateroom because the cameras had not been operational for more than year. Dominguez said the captain raped her while she was unconscious in 2021.
The Safer Seas Act became law in December 2022 – one month after Hicks resolved her lawsuit against Maersk Line Ltd., the U.S. subsidiary of the global shipping giant that owned the ship that she served aboard at the time of her assault. The case brought by Dominguez is still pending litigation.
“Hope risked her career, her safety, and her privacy to come forward — and now, as a direct result of her bravery, the Navy is making sweeping changes to how it protects mariners. That’s powerful,” said Ryan Melogy, an attorney for the Maritime Injury Law Firm.