LLOYD’s LIST ASKS RYAN MELOGY ABOUT THE NEWLY ENACTED “SAFER SEAS ACT”
On December 22, 2022 Lloyd’s List published a story about historic and recently-enacted maritime safety legislation “The Safer Seas Act.” The story was written by Tomer Raanan and titled “US lawmakers pass seafarer safety protections to combat sexual violence at sea.”
Lloyd’s List reached out to Ryan Melogy for comment on the important maritime legislation he was closely involved in drafting and promoting.
Lloyd’s List noted that the final version of the bill contained only a $250 per day civil fine for not reporting an allegation of shipboard sexual assault, which is capped at $50,000.
“I think the monetary penalty for noncompliance is a joke,” said J. Ryan Melogy, who represents Midshipman-X and is the founder of the non-profit Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy. “The bill the Senate passed included a $50,000 per day penalty for non-compliance, which was a serious penalty. The industry clearly fought hard against that and won. Not reporting an oil spill into the marine environment is a criminal offense, and I think rape should be treated as seriously as spilling oil.”
However, Ryan noted the importance of the new reporting requirements under 46 USC 10104 contained in the Safer Seas Act:
“The most important provisions are the reporting provisions that amend [the reporting requirements under] Section 10104 of Title 46,” said Mr Melogy. “Nothing can change until vessel operators are required to report all allegations of shipboard sexual harassment and assault to the US Coast Guard. Until now, companies have handled these complaints internally — even allegations of federal sex crimes. Going forward, the Coast Guard will receive the reports, and companies that fail to report will face serious consequences.”
Ryan also told Lloyd’s List that he believes the nature and volume of the reports received by the Coast Guard, which must be reported annually to Congress, will paint an extremely disturbing picture of the scale of sexual misconduct within the maritime industry, eventually leading to additional congressional action in the future.
“I believe these reports will disturb Congress and lead to even greater changes in future legislative cycles. That’s certainly what we will be fighting to achieve,” Melogy said.