‘I Was Trapped’: Student Says She Was Raped at Sea During Merchant Marine Training Program

Five crew members at the the world’s biggest container shipping company have been suspended after a student at a U.S. federal service academy published an anonymous blog saying she was raped at sea. The author of the post only identified herself as a senior at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. In her blog, the woman says she was 19 when she was posted to a Maersk ship for her Sea Year—a mandatory federal training stint that gives students experience on commercial crafts. She alleges that engineers on board plied her with alcohol one night, then she woke up in a panic. “There was blood on my sheets, and I knew immediately that I had been raped,” she wrote. “I was a virgin and had been saving myself, and as soon as I woke up I could feel that I was very sore and knew exactly what had happened.” Maersk told CNN that five crew members have been suspended and the company has launched an investigation.