A call on channel 16 opened a floodgate of trauma.
“XXXxxXXX is a rapist.” The call came over channel 16. All vessels in hailing distance of Antigua heard a woman say, “Please be aware, he is a rapist. Please all listen.”
Who the woman was, no one yet knew, but her plea caught the attention of the industry. Across the sea, in the South Downs of England, Andrew Roch, founder of The Crew Academy, heard it when a purser on the company’s residential training course played the voice note over dinner. To his surprise, he recognized the accused’s name [which we have withheld]. It was someone he had come across the previous year when the person worked on a different yacht under a different management company and faced similar allegations. He then put it out to his private WhatsApp group of pursers, asking if anyone else knew of incidents involving this man.
The response was overwhelming. “We were inundated with calls and WhatsApps from individuals saying, ‘He attacked me,’ or ‘I know someone he attacked,’” Andrew says. In all, he collected stories of 18 assaults going back to 2014.
It made him so angry that management companies, by not doing their due diligence, had allowed a serial sex offender to get away with this behavior for years that he published a “Without Prejudice open statement” on LinkedIn. Without naming the person, it listed nine allegations of rape and sexual assault that occurred since 2018 while the person served as captain on large sailing yachts. That really got the industry’s attention.
The victims’ accounts were similar, Andrew says. They would be plied with alcohol and cocaine supplied by the captain and the party vibe on board would come from the top down — and the pressure for junior crew members to join in would be immense. Then the captain would get the female crew member alone. There would be no proof and the presence of drugs and alcohol would discredit the victim, who would be left feeling like they did not have a voice.
“Do they call flag state? Do they call the DPA? Do they call the management, the owner’s rep, the owner’s family office? There’s just no clear signposting, and it’s so easy for a captain or an owner’s rep or a manager just to fire the victim or assailant, and that’s the problem dealt with,” Andrew says.
His advice is to go to the local police, or your consulate or embassy. “Whether the police force takes it forward is irrelevant. You’ve logged a written statement with an authority within the jurisdiction, which means when you go up your chain of command on board the boat, your HOD cannot ignore it or persuade you that you are the problem. The captain has to send it to the DPA, the DPA has to send it to the management, the management has to send it to the owner’s company, because it’s a legal written statement.” Then the management company should conduct an internal investigation.
In the 18 incidents he compiled, Andrew says not one victim initially went to the police, but because there is no statute of limitations for criminal offenses in Britain, they have now. “We’ve got seven cases pending with five police forces in the UK.”
There are several groups to turn to for emotional support and information as well, including Safer Waves and ISWAN. Members can also get assistance from the PYA and Nautilus. “We have a 24/7 helpline that members can access for emergencies outside of regular office hours,” says a representative of Nautilus’s yacht team. “We can assist with things such as aiding with repatriation from vessels and supporting seafarers who wish to report the incidents to the authorities, employers or flag state to work together to ensure the seafarer’s safety is prioritized. We can provide onward referrals and signposting to additional support networks.”
Another way crew can protect themselves is go into a workspace that’s safe from day one, Andrew says. “When you’re being interviewed for a role on board, you must ask, ‘what is the vessel’s policy regarding sexual harassment? Do you have one? Have there been any cases in the last year or two of bullying or harassment on your vessel?’”
The reverberations of that channel 16 call that led to the LinkedIn post have been felt throughout the industry, not only by the alleged rapist, who was fired.
“It’s done a really great thing,” Andrew says. “It’s shown that we can stand up, we have a voice. If management won’t support you, call Safer Waves, Nautilus, the PYA or flag state. In the last resort go public; you will find that the vast majority of crew will listen to your voice.”