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“This is a really difficult thing to do, to hold a captain accountable. We hope this case serves as a warning to people who are thinking about doing this kind of thing; that people know that there is accountability.”

“Melogy, who represented Hope Hicks in the Midshipman-X case that helped precipitate passage of the Safer Seas Act, argues the new definition fails to capture the realities of abuse at sea. “The dramatic impact of psychological abuse in a shipboard environment is not well understood,” Melogy has said, noting that conduct dismissed as ordinary workplace conflict on shore can become cumulative, destabilizing, and even fatal at sea.”

“"My client endured a horrific betrayal while serving her country at sea — and still found the strength to graduate and earn her license," said attorney Ryan Melogy, a graduate of USMMA and a former merchant mariner. "She and the second survivor I represent have both showed extraordinary courage, patience, and determination in making these historic criminal charges possible."”

“Melogy, a former seafarer who represents mariners in sexual assault and harassment cases, said the criminal case against Merrone is about more than one captain. “It’s about a broken system consisting of US government agencies, maritime labour unions and commercial shipping companies that have worked cooperatively for decades to protect known sexual predators and silence their victims,” he said. “That system is finally failing.””

““I don’t see anything unusual procedurally about this particular case so far,” said maritime attorney Ryan Melogy, “though the fact that DSV Solutions promptly waived service strongly suggests there were pre-suit communications between the parties, likely including early settlement discussions that did not result in resolution.””

“““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 Justice4Mariners Law Firm.”

““Decades of documented moral failures by leaders of the U.S. Coast Guard have made it clear to Congress, the public, and survivors that the agency is unwilling to take steps needed to protect Coast Guard Academy cadets from systemic sexual abuse,” said attorney Ryan Melogy. “It has become obvious that only outside pressure can lead to change.””

““Maritime lawyer J. Ryan Melogy says of the court's decision and settlement that it "will inevitably force APL and other owners and operators of American-flag vessels to take new and aggressive measures to prevent the sexual abuse of its crew members. There is nothing that motivates shipping companies like money," Melogy says.””

““Crowley has settled a second sex trafficking lawsuit filed against it relating to an alleged predatory supervisor at the company’s El Salvador office. As with the first resolution, the company says it continues to deny the allegations.””

“"They are being flooded with reports," said Ryan Melogy, a maritime lawyer who has represented harassment victims including Hicks”

“Ryan Melogy, a lawyer who represented the third engineer in the Coast Guard case, pointed out that alleged behaviour that led to the accusation of misconduct happened before the alleged battery of his client.”

“The aggrieved third engineer’s attorney, Ryan Melogy of Justice4Mariners, criticizes the CMA CGM subsidiary for not removing the defendant from the ship earlier. "This should have happened when the first incidents with the chief engineer were investigated."”

““Today marks a historic turning point in addressing the epidemic of sexual violence at the Coast Guard Academy,” said Ryan Melogy”

“After two judges allowed litigation to move forward, out-of-court settlement closes the book on rape case”

“Ryan Melogy’s Speech to the Marine Pollution and Maritime Crimes Committee of the MLAUS at Blank Rome, LLP, New York City, NY”

“Ryan Melogy’s client Elsie Dominguez continues to fight for justice as the U.S. government continues its fight to deny justice to Elsie and the many other victims of Military Sealift Command’s unsafe vessels.”

“. “However, a plaintiff’s attorney representing victims of maritime harassment argues that the existing legal patchwork provides mariners with little or no effective protection, and getting the Coast Guard involved would help. “Harassment is an enormous problem in the maritime industry and much more widespread than sexual misconduct. Mariners cannot depend on existing laws or company policies to protect them from harassment and bullying,” said attorney Ryan Melogy. “AWO wants to roll back protections for mariners.””

“. “When she did file a report in June, her attorney Ryan Melogy said he believes she remained on the job because she had hired an attorney. Following her report, Military Sealift Command returned the captain to the U.S., and “has protected the captain, shielded him from scrutiny, and continued to employ him,” according to the lawsuit.””

““Dominguez reported her assault to Naval Criminal Investigative Service in June and the case is now with the Department of Justice’s Office of Human Rights and Special Prosecutions to determine whether criminal charges will be filed against the captain, said Ryan Melogy, an attorney representing Dominguez for the criminal investigation.””

““Ms. Dominguez is represented by J. Ryan Melogy of the New York law firm Maritime Legal Solutions, PLLC…The complaint alleges that Ms. Dominguez left the ship while off duty on the evening of December 18, 2021, and that, while she was ashore, someone slipped a drug into her drink…the complaint also alleges that Ms. Dominguez awoke in the early morning of December 19, 2021, to find the captain of the ship raping her as she lay in her bed unconscious.””

““ Female 1st Assistant Engineer was drugged and then raped in her cabin by the captain of US Navy ship USNS Carson City, she claims in relation to a lawsuit she has filed against the US Navy.””

“. “Ms. Dominguez and other US Merchant Mariners who live aboard U.S. government vessels should not have to live in fear. The United States owes a duty to protect crew members aboard its vessels, and it is failing to live up to that duty,” Melogy said. “Ms. Dominguez is courageously coming forward, at great personal and professional risk to herself, to protect others from similarly traumatic experiences.”””

“. “Elsie E. Dominguez, a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, says she was working as the civilian 1st Assistant Engineer aboard the USNS Carson City when she was raped by the vessel’s captain and that Navy and Military Sealift Command (MSC) officials failed to protect her from sexual assault, according to a complaint filed in New Jersey federal court. “”

“Ryan Melogy, a lawyer who founded Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy and who has spoken out about his own experience with harassment when he worked at sea, told TradeWinds that the answer to the Safer Seas Act’s failure to define harassment is not to roll back protections that have been granted to seafarers. Rather, he said the answer is to strengthen those protections. “Instead of removing the requirement to report harassment ... we need Congress to elaborate on this in the next round,” Melogy said, explaining that it is important to have the Coast Guard’s third-party check to ensure shipping companies do not sweep harassment allegations under the rug to protect its own interests. Melogy pointed to his own experience with harassment, and how it is different than on shore. The psychological impact of being harassed on a vessel when you are a crew member is not well understood,” he said. “You are trapped in a floating prison. You can’t go anywhere. You live with these people. There are enormous power imbalances.””

“. FLORIDA-based shipping company Crowley has been named lead defendant in a sexual assault lawsuit by a cadet who alleges she was raped by her supervisor while serving with the company.The lawsuit in Florida seeks $30,000 in damages and also names the Seafarers International Union and its affiliate the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship.”

“. “Crowley has been named as the lead defendant in a sexual assault lawsuit brought by a female cadet who alleged she was raped while serving sea duties on a vessel managed by the Florida shipping company. The lawsuit also names as defendants the Seafarers International Union and its Seafarers Harvey Lundeberg School for Seamanship.””

“? “Ryan Melogy, who has represented Hicks and other victims at sea, said sexual harassment on a merchant ship should be a federal crime, pointing to a law protecting National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration observers who board fishing vessels that could serve as a model. On US-flag ships, investigation of sexual assault and harassment cases falls to the US Coast Guard, which refers cases to the Department of Justice for prosecution, but Melogy has seen those referrals go to a variety of offices. He would like to see those referrals sent to one Justice Department office with expertise in prosecuting sexual crimes, so there is better collaboration with the Coast Guard Investigative Service. Seafarers have seen the Coast Guard suspend or revoke licences in sexual violence cases, but they have not seen an assailant prosecuted, at least not in recent years. “There’s got to be that prosecution,” Melogy said.””

“re: MLS clients Vanessa Treminio & Jane Doe #1: “The allegations against Andreini come as Jacksonville, Florida-headquartered Crowley fights back against two lawsuits by two Salvadorean women over the behaviour of former supervisor Juan Emilio Blanco, who had worked in the company’s inland shipping department until 2018. One woman, who remains anonymous, alleged sexual harassment by Blanco, while former employee Vanessa Treminio accused Blanco of assault and rape. Both have claimed that the incidents, which allegedly occurred when they travelled to the company’s Florida headquarters from El Salvador, amounted to sex trafficking.””

““She has never looked back, and never, ever backed down," Hicks' attorney Ryan Melogy told CNN…Federal prosecutors had recently notified Hicks that that they wouldn’t be filing criminal charges against Sison, according to her attorney Melogy. The Department of Justice declined to comment on the agency’s decision not to prosecute Sison.””

““J. Ryan Melogy, Hicks’ attorney, said the outcome is the “best we could hope for” at this point in the case.“ “This is extremely important given how high-profile this case has become,” said Melogy, who, along with Hicks, attended a recent meeting with federal prosecutors where they were told Sison would not be charged. Messages left with Sison were not returned.””