26 JAN 2026
The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act has introduced the first statutory definition of “harassment” under the Safer Seas Act, but maritime advocates argue the narrow focus on discrimination-based conduct excludes widespread forms of psychological abuse that research shows are endemic to shipboard environments.
The amendment to 46 U.S.C. § 10104 defines reportable harassment by tying it exclusively to conduct prohibited under existing federal anti-discrimination statutes, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. While the change resolves ambiguity that regulators and industry law firms had previously flagged, it simultaneously narrows the scope of what vessel operators must report under federal law, according to maritime attorney Ryan Melogy, founder of the Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy organization.
The practical impact of that definitional gap is already visible in Coast Guard reporting data. Between FY 2023 and FY 2024, total reports of shipboard misconduct nearly doubled from 150 to 287, with harassment allegations rising from 53 to 147 cases—more than half of all reported misconduct. Yet during that period, the Coast Guard acknowledged that “harassment” remained undefined in statute or regulation, leaving reporting decisions to the discretion of vessel owners and operators.
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. Drawing on his own experiences aboard commercial vessels—where he says he endured sexual harassment, sexual assault, physical assault, and sustained psychological abuse—Melogy contends that much of the mistreatment mariners face has little connection to protected characteristics.
“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. He describes shipboard abuse as taking the form of hierarchical coercion, intimidation, humiliation, and sustained psychological pressure imposed by superiors in an environment where escape is impossible.
Academic research supports the claim that such conditions are widespread in the industry. A structured literature review found that between 8% and 25% of seafarers report experiencing bullying or harassment at sea, with substantially higher rates in certain populations. Broader studies have demonstrated that prolonged exposure to isolation, rigid power hierarchies, and the absence of meaningful escape significantly increases the risk of psychological injury, including anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.
Melogy argues that by defining harassment exclusively through the lens of anti-discrimination law, the 2026 amendment clarifies reporting standards but leaves unaddressed how isolation, rigid hierarchy, and confinement magnify psychological harm even without discriminatory intent. As a result, conduct that may be profoundly destabilizing in a maritime environment can still fall outside the statute’s reporting and enforcement framework, despite posing serious risks to crew safety and mental health.
“The Safer Seas Act was an important first step, but it did not go far enough,” Melogy has said. “Congress addressed sexual assault and discrimination, but psychological abuse in confined shipboard environments remains largely invisible under the law.” He has indicated that he intends to continue advocating for legislative changes that would expand the definition of reportable misconduct to include coercive and psychologically abusive conduct not captured by traditional discrimination standards.
Until such changes occur, Melogy warns, mariners subjected to the most damaging forms of non-physical abuse may remain dependent on employer discretion rather than statutory protection—an outcome that undermines the very purpose of the Safer Seas Act.
The Safer Seas Act became law in December 2022 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023.