Ryan Melogy is one of the most widely recognized maritime attorneys in the United States, and his work has helped drive a generational change in how sexual assault and abuse are addressed in the maritime industry. Today, he represents survivors of sexual assault, harassment, trafficking, and serious injury at sea and handles some of the most complex and high-profile cases seeking accountability for harm to mariners, maritime workers, and passengers.

After experiencing abuse at sea and having his own report covered up by Maersk, Ryan became a whistleblower and later served as a victim and star witness in the first known public sexual misconduct Suspension & Revocation trial ever prosecuted by the U.S. Coast Guard. That case exposed serious failures in how sexual misconduct aboard vessels was investigated and helped bring national attention to the issue of sexual violence at sea.

In 2020, Ryan worked with U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Midshipman Hope Hicks to publish her groundbreaking “Midshipman-X” account of sexual assault at sea. Her blog post sparked widespread international media attention, congressional investigations, and sweeping reforms across the U.S. government, maritime industry, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Ryan later represented Midshipman-X and her classmate “Midshipman-Y” in their groundbreaking civil lawsuits against Maersk Line and in their dealings with federal investigators including the Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice, and U.S. Coast Guard Suspension & Revocation prosecutors. The perpetrators in both cases ultimately surrendered their Merchant Mariner Credentials and were permanently barred from working in the U.S. maritime industry, marking what is believed to be the first known time mariners accused of sexual assault were forced out of the industry in this manner.

Through his litigation and advocacy, Ryan has helped secure accountability for survivors of abuse at sea by forcing numerous perpetrators out of the maritime industry, bringing civil cases against major shipping companies, and helping victims obtain justice after years of silence and institutional failure.

Ryan’s work pursuing accountability for maritime sexual predators also helped bring forward one of the most significant maritime criminal sexual assault prosecutions ever brought by federal prosecutors. In 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice filed criminal charges against a former ship captain accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Ryan’s client, a former U.S. Merchant Marine Academy cadet, aboard a U.S.-flag cargo vessel.

Ryan also played an instrumental role in the passage of the landmark maritime safety legislation known as the Safer Seas Act, and authored an influential policy paper that influenced Congress to strengthen 46 U.S.C. §10104, the federal law governing the reporting of sexual misconduct aboard vessels.

Ryan has also helped pioneer the use of federal anti-sex-trafficking law in maritime employment cases. In litigation against Crowley Maritime Corporation, Ryan and his co-counsel advanced a legal framework under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) allowing employers to face civil liability for knowingly benefiting from a sex-trafficking venture. Courts across the United States have since relied on this framework when evaluating civil trafficking claims.

Ryan’s investigative work has also helped expose systemic failures in how maritime sexual-assault cases were handled by federal authorities. His Freedom of Information Act litigation and work with two CNN reporters helped bring national attention to the U.S. Coast Guard’s mishandling of sexual misconduct cases and played a central role in the exposure of the Operation Fouled Anchor scandal.

Ryan is widely recognized as an expert on sexual assault and abuse in the maritime industry and is frequently sought out by journalists covering these issues. His work has received national and international media attention, and CNN has described him as “an outspoken advocate for reform,” and “a one-man watchdog of the maritime industry.”

Ryan founded Justice4Mariners to ensure that seafarers who experience assault, harassment, psychological abuse, trafficking, or serious injury at sea have access to legal representation from someone who understands how the maritime industry really works and who can help them obtain the justice they deserve.

Ryan Melogy is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point and the University of Virginia School of Law. He served for eight years as an officer in the United States Navy Reserve and holds an unlimited tonnage Chief Mate’s license. In his career at sea, Ryan worked on 22 different cargo ships, including container ships, oil tankers, car carriers, Military Sealift Command vessels, tub boats, and ATBs.

Contact Ryan by emailing:

Help@JusticeForMariners.com

or call/text: +1 (347) 562-9119