Female radio officers at sea mid 70's on tankers before sex disc Act

[Lucy Knight]

Re woman abused at sea resulting in i tragic loss of life.

This was from a PDF file think it was March 2014 so it is still being investigated it seems. It happened a few yrs ago now on Saf Marine ship British flag. I think Saf Marine is owned by Maersk. . If personnel depts had been more concerned about welfare in the 70's and allowed myself a voice this wouldn't still been happening.

When it happened to me on a bulker I was dressed in a boiler suit and was lured into someones cabin by a false excuse . It was obviously planned and I didn't have a chance. Dressed as I was could hardly have been classed as provocative.

Another thing an ex ch off who went Capt admitted in recent times was yes the men's version would be believed rather than the woman's in the office. This is when the Capt and Chiefs had a female personnel and the deck offs up to ch off had another female personnel officer, I believe. I had Mr Bob Balneaves and Mr Charlle Thompson was in charge of them all. They should never have given those in personnel so much power if they had not had experience at sea. How could they have known the score about what life at sea was really about and how some of the men behaved . The men under them it appeared to me could get away with anything towards woman like myself and they should have taken the sex disc act more responsibly in senior positions. This prevented people like myself being believed. Personnel should have been running courses for the men to make sure they were familiar with the Sex Disc Act especially at senior level. It makes me wonder if all those who worked in personnel were actually familiar with it because they certainly didn't act as if they were. Some of the woman that followed later at sea had no idea what it was like for those taken on earlier clearing the way and one ex cp ship female navigator who joined after i had been pushed out even told me recently there was never any sex disc in C. P. Ships. That was because others had gone before her.

Comment by one ex CP Capt I sent it to was 'Makes very unpleasant reading' Sorry if it upset him and upsets other, but is reality.

Investigation of Incidents and Crime at Sea
Captain Michael Lloyd, MNI, gave this presentation on an unusual subject at the February
Joint Informal Meeting on board HQS Wellington. He started by stating that all law at sea was
governed by United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea, UNCLOS, dated 1994.
Criminal Jurisprudence in this protects the rights of innocent passage, stating that the arrest and
detention of a vessel is not possible unless she has committed an offence. It lays down that the
Flag State has jurisdiction over each vessel that flies its flag. It also says an inquiry is to be
held by suitably qualified persons into every marine casualty. Unfortunately the term ‘suitably
qualified’ is not defined. IMO Resolution A192(22) provides for the enforcement of national
laws.
Having shown that there is plenty of legislation available, Capt. Lloyd went on to inform his
audience that, even in the UK, there was only one police sergeant, attached to the Hampshire
Constabulary, to cover all incidents and crimes on board UK flagged vessels.
Michael Lloyd then quoted the case of the death of Akhona Geveza, a female South African
Cadet on board the British flagged Safmarine Kariba. She disappeared from the ship whilst it
was at sea and was later found floating off Croatia. She had earlier complained to the Master
that she had been repeatedly raped by the Chief Officer. The Master, who would have had no
training in such matters, asked her to meet with both him and the Chief Officer to discuss her
complaint. When she failed to turn up the ship was searched and when she was discovered
missing the rescue services were called out from Rijeka.
Here we have a situation on board a British flagged ship, in foreign waters, affecting a national
from a third country. Who should investigate?
Several cadets in the same maritime studies programme, speaking to the South African Sunday
Times on condition of anonymity, said there was systematic abuse of power by senior officers,
who threatened cadets’ careers if they did not perform sexual acts. The sex abuse allegations
include claims that :
Two male cadets were raped by senior officials while at sea;
A female cadet terminated two pregnancies that followed her rape at sea;
Three female trainees were pregnant at the end of their 12-month training stint;
A male cadet was sent home a month before finishing his programme because he
refused to have sex with a senior official;
A female cadet had a child with a married South African Maritime Safety Agency
executive after he forced himself on her and threatened to cancel her contract if she told
anyone.
The verdict, from Croatia, on Akhona Geveza has been one of suicide, and that the relationship
was consensual. However, her parents believe that she was murdered. The Chief Officer later
left the ship in Port Said.
Currently Masters are given no training in dealing with crime at sea. There was a time when
there were shore-based departments and staff to deal with relatively small amounts of crime at
sea. However, with budget cuts these are being reduced at a time when there are more female
cadets at sea.

[robpage]

The report into this on Gcaptan in June 2010 reads

Like many youngsters Akhona Geveza had her own Facebook site but unlike many youngsters she was a seafarer so the opportunity to update her page came few and far between. Her suicide at the age of 19, two weeks before completing the training that would begin her career as a navigating officer, means that her page will fall silent, but silence is not an option for those seeking justice for this young woman.On 25 January, in Facebookese Akhona Geveza wrote: “Ey gudpeople 2day is my last day in South Africa *crying* sometymz in lyf have to choose btwn the ones we love and education.anyway i love you all guys i wll miss u you all.” In March she made her last entry: “enjoying my time in Korea,missing u all”
A South African National Ports Authority, Transnet, cadet doing her onboard training on the container ship, Safmarine Kariba – was found to be missing around noon on 24 June. After a two hour search, her body was found at sea by local police near the port of Rijeka, Croatia where the vessel was due to berth.A memorial service was held onboard the Safmarine Kariba on Friday, 25 June 2010. The vessel’s engine was stopped soon after the vessel had left the port of Rijeka at the location where Ms Geveza was found. The crew gathered on the bridge wing, the ship’s horn was blown and a minute of silence was observed as the crew lowered a floral wreath into the sea in remembrance of Ms Geveza.South African newspapers subsequently reported claims that she had told a colleague she had been raped by the ship’s Ukrainian chief officer. Other Transnet cadets were quoted making allegations of male and female rape, pregnancy and bullying and harassment.Says Safmarine: “As soon as we became aware of the allegations regarding Ms Geveza, Safmarine instructed that the Chief Officer onboard the vessel be relieved from duty… Safmarine is not the only provider of training berths to South Africans and we are therefore most concerned that the Sunday Times article may erroneously leave the impression that all the sexual allegations mentioned in the article took place on Safmarine vessels. That is not the case.”
Among the allegations made by South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper are:“Several cadets in the maritime studies programme, speaking to the Sunday Times on condition of anonymity, said there was systematic abuse of power by senior officers, who threatened cadets’ careers if they did not perform sexual acts. The sex abuse allegations include claims that :Two male cadets were raped by senior officials while at sea; female cadet terminated two pregnancies that followed her rape at sea;Three female trainees were pregnant at the end of their 12-month training stint;A male cadet was sent home a month before finishing his programme because he refused to have sex with a senior official; and
A female cadet has a child with a married South African Maritime Safety Agency executive after he forced himself on her and threatened to cancel her contract if she told anyone.Said a former female cadet: "When we arrived on the vessel, there were 10 women, and we were told that the captain is our god; he can marry you, baptise you and even bury you without anybody’s permission. We were told that the sea is no man’s land and that what happens at sea, stays at sea."Said another former female cadet: "It was like we were dumped in the middle of a game park."The former male cadet who was allegedly raped said: "I really don’t want to talk about it. Bad things are happening at sea and I am one of the victims."
As an African woman in a male-dominated industry was, in a sense, a pioneer. Over the past two years 15 women have graduated from the Transnet programme, 14 of whom are still at sea.Says a contributor to a Facebook memorial page: page W’l 4ever b proud of u sisi, u broke da boundaries. showing dat even f u’r a village gel, da sky s da limit. u r da inspiration”.Safmarine Kariba was a UK-registered vessel and Nautilus International has called for the UK government to ensure there is a full and transparent inquiry into Akhona’s death and the subsequent allegations of rape and harassment.General secretary Mark Dickinson says the case should serve as ‘a wake-up call’ to the international shipping industry. ‘The reports are deeply shocking and extremely serious and it is imperative that every effort is made to investigate and learn from this as a matter of urgency,’ he adds.‘It is essential for the shipping industry and for the UK register that no effort is spared to establish the truth of the allegations and – if true – to ensure that appropriate action is taken,’ Mr Dickinson states.‘The claims being made run the risk of putting the issue of equal opportunities back decades,’ he warns. ‘It is therefore critical that there must be no whitewash and no cover-up and that the authorities and the owners respond in a constructive and engaged way.’Mr Dickinson says research by Nautilus a decade ago shows serious problems of sexual harassment in shipping. As a result, the union developed equal opportunities policies with the UK Chamber of Shipping and these had subsequently been taken up across the European Union.The union is also writing to the UK transport minister and home secretary to highlight the need for Britain to play a leading role in the criminal and accident investigations. Nautilus is reviewing its existing arrangements for enabling members to report problems onboard their ships, and has also approached the Chamber of Shipping to discuss ways in which the industry can reassess its equal opportunities policies and to ensure that lessons are learned from the case of Akhona Geveza.‘We are determined that this incident is not swept under the carpet and that some good can come from this tragic loss of life,’ Mr Dickinson says.‘We have a 30% wastage rate among young people entering the industry, and we really need to make very sure that bullying, harassment and discrimination are not tolerated in shipping and that all seafarers, regardless of sex, sexual orientation and race, are not treated in ways that were not even acceptable 100 years ago.’Transnet has established an independent bard of inquiry and the South African police are also investigating.As yet, there is no news of an investigation by the UK authorities.A vibrant 19 year-old is dead, the tip of a particularly nasty iceberg. The industry has a duty of care towards these youngsters and it’s time to take that duty seriously.

I remembered this from the time and remember the UK MAIB held an enquiry into it , but can find no results , from Nautilus of 20912 http://www.nautilusint.org/Shared%20...ort%202012.pdf it gives the impression that the Danish owned ( Moller Maersk ) Safmarine ship under the UK flag lost the sense of duty amongst a pass the parcel of whose jurisdiction the enquiry belonged to . Even in my time at sea there were many stories of homosexual rape , but never any proof , Shame ruled and silence reigned , maybe the dismissal by our generations left a legacy paid for by those who followed . I can honestly say if anyone had complained in any of the companies that I sailed with , I am without a doubt that action , would have followed , whether quayside or ship-side

[robpage]

I have had a think about this since I wrote the above , and reflecting , I believe that the red blooded testosterone fuelled men that I sailed with always showed any female respect , from the much maligned wives , female officers , ratings and girlfriends on board to the girls in the naughty houses ashore , they showed the respect deserved . I was at sea as a married man for the most part of my service and I never found the need or want to stray , but fourteen years of 24 hour on 48 hour off trips may be a contributing factor , although respect for my late wife was the only real reason . I had a good think about this and the only time I remember showing disrespect was when a fourth engineer had his fifth wife aboard in a ten week period , the first and only legitimate wife was home with the kids , I think I may have upset the young lady when I mentioned that we did booze cruises for £1 , and obviously every cheap tart in Portsmouth had found a cheaper offer . It upset the fourth engineer , but I had sat next to him and the real wife at a couple of Christmas parties and felt extremely uncomfortable with the situation , I reviewed my last line , and repeat it , if you ( Lucy ) or any other male or female had been compromised like you stated , I would have reacted against it as strongly as possible , probably by complaint to the Captain , copied to the office , reported to NUMAST . and like every other old bulldog , once the teeth get in I don't let go . I feel so sorry that any seafarer had those experiences , but it lends more to sailing with low life creeps than any discrimination act .

[Lucy Knight]

Re last post concerning men having woman posing as wives they weren't married to. I know of two
cases in C.P. Ships where that happened and they sailed deep sea. I didn't actually sail with them, but the facts came direct fm their so called husbands later.
One deck took her many

times before he said personnel told him he would have to marry her or stop. Another who was later under the the personnel
officer as I was, fell for it or turned a blind eye took his. He told people they had just
got married so her passport
hadn't been changed.


The deck one splitted up because she wasn't going to hang around waiting at home. He acted like a dog on heat with me. He would come in the radio rm when i was taking down a wxreport first thing when he was coming of watch, knock my headphones off, that meant i had no freehand to repel him and stick his hand down my shirt. If that wasn't far enough he then started putting the other one down my skirt. I complained then and he didn't half turn nasty.

Maybe a lot of the men were not really suited to being at sea.

[robpage]

That is absolutely unacceptable behaviour , Many of the men here that I have grown to know through this site over the past few years ranging from cabin boys to captains would have laid a guy out for disrespecting you in that manner . There is no excuse . I know if one of the , lets say men loving community had approached me in such a manner , he may have required hospital treatment afterwards . And , the vast majority of men I sailed with in all; ranks would have , to put it in an old fashioned way , " defended your honour " on the grounds at 5' and slightly heavier than a wet flannel , you might have needed a Champion . I never sailed or came across CP Ships , but I do hope that was exceptional behaviour and not a common occurrence

[cappy]

as rob ses i dont know of any who had been told of your plight would not have sorted this sort of guy out .....i cant apologise for this person...but had i and most i sailed with known of this ....it would have been sorted as was anyone trying to mess with the boy ratings got sorted not at that timebut in time ....i myself slung a bottle at one predator whichshattered on the bulkhead and slashed his ear and ......he was an ex [para but later in the trip was hit with a cleaver which put a stop to his game...it was not a nice scene .....regards cappy

[j.sabourn]

#28... Used to turf them off the ship at the General Terminus berth right opposite Bettys bar at 0700 every morning before the Dockers came aboard. Got cornered one morning by 3 of them in an ABs cabin. Thought it was the end for me. Managed to talk my way out of it, learned after that and another incident when was inside of a cabin by a knife weilding nutter who had just stabbed the master, always to keep the door at my back. We all learn from experience if we dont we have ourselves to blame. Cheers JS

[Captain Kong]

In my 45 years at seafaring I never ever came across any sexual bullying. and sailed on every type of ship and many many companies.
Only twice was I approached by Officers wives for a dallyance, each time I really did refuse their advances, scared of getting caught out by their husbands I guess.
Also all the young ladies brought back on board from various drinking establishments were always treated with respect like Ladies.
Cheers
Brian

[cappy]

well brian treated like ladies ....yes ......but acted like ladies a different story....ive seen them fighting like cage fighters both in glasgow and kiwi aboard ship ....it was so bad in glasgow the mate who had let them aboard......sent for the police .....we had come up from peru ...and needed company ...but they sure knew how to use the head and boot .....the big glasgow coppers took some stick they had about a dozen or so in a blind alley in various states of undress and were hurling themselves at the coppers.....the language was as bad as possible ......but by they new the job when you got them in the sack .....no money ....just all the booze they could drink.....regards cappy ....who didnt get a present as a souvenir .....but some did ....

[Captain Kong]

I agree Cappy, Glasgow was a little different, The young Ladies from Betty`s Bar were some times a little Rough.
New Years Eve in 1956, on the Memphis, six came on board and started to batter all the Sailors and Firemen, I was locked in my cabin until they broke through. I managed to leg it forard and slept in the rope locker all night. The young ladies went up a deck and filled in the Engineers, wrecking the joint.
The Captain sent for the Police and some of them got bloody faces, and it as a terrible struggle for them to get them inside the paddy wagons and away.
The Captain was mad about some of us bringing those young Ladies on board., "DONT GO IN BETTY`S BAR AGAIN" he shouted.
Cheers
Brian.