On June 14, 2022, 8 1/2 months after MLAA published her now-famous anonymous blog post and 4 days before her graduation from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), Midshipman-X publicly revealed her identity as Hope Hicks in a lawsuit filed against Maersk Line, Limited.

Hope was joined in her lawsuit by a 2nd USMMA student who had been brutally sexually harassed and subjected to a pattern of unwanted sexual touching and sexual terror aboard the same Maersk ship (the M/V Alliance Fairfax) where Hope was sexually assaulted and terrorized two years earlier.

According to her lawsuit, the treatment of 18 year old Midshipman-Y was so terrifying and extreme that it left her sleeping in the bathroom of her stateroom at night clutching a knife. For now, Midshipman-Y has chosen to remain anonymous.

In July of 2022 Midshipman-Y sat for an interview with criminal investigators from the Coast Guard Investigative Service. After the U.S. Department of Justice declined to bring criminal charges against Paul Pagano, the mariner who terrorized her aboard the Alliance Fairfax, the Coast Guard brought Suspension & Revocation (S&R) charges against Pagano.

In November 2022 Midshipman-Y reached a confidential resolution with Maersk regarding her civil claims against the shipping company.

On March 16, 2023 Hope Hicks and Midshipman-Y both appeared on camera in a bombshell CNN investigative report on the failure of the U.S. Coast Guard to protect cadets and other mariners at sea.

On May 10, 2023 Newsday and maritime industry publications reported that Pagano had permanently surrendered his merchant mariner credential (MMC) to the U.S. Coast Guard in exchange for have the S&R charges dropped. Pagano is no longer allowed to work in the maritime industry.

Both Midshipman-X and Midshipman-Y were represented in their lawsuits against Maersk and in their criminal cases and Coast Guard S&R against their assailants by attorney J. Ryan Melogy of New York law firm Maritime Legal Solutions, PLLC.

Links to stories and documents about Midshipman-Y

1. CNN (March 16, 2023): She accused her boss of rape. A year later, no resolution Bombshell CNN Investigative Report Featuring an Interview with Midshipman-Y.

2. Newsday (May 10, 2023): Mariner Accused of Sexually Harassing Teen USMMA Cadet during Sea Year Banned from Industry: “J. Ryan Melogy, the attorney for both women, said: “We don't know how many people have left the academy because of these horrible Sea Year experiences, but it's a lot.” Melogy has filed a federal administrative tort claim against the U.S. Maritime Administration, or MARAD, on behalf of Midshipman-Y, citing the “negligent” operations of the Sea Year program. Midshipman-Y said the Sea Year program, which was temporarily suspended after Hope Hicks' disclosure but has since resumed, is irreparably broken. “The system isn't designed to protect you,” she said. “It's not designed to put you on safe ships and to know what to do in unsafe situations.”

3. Maritime Executive (May 11, 2023): Second Seafarer Surrenders License in USMMA Sexual Assault Cases: “A second seafarer has surrendered his license to the U.S. Coast Guard as part of the high-profile sexual assault cases involving midshipmen at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy during their Sea Year duty. This case stems from the reports by Midshipman-Y, who along with Midshipman-X, drew national attention and increased awareness of the systemic problems in the work environment at sea. A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed to a New York news outlet, Newsday, that an electrician working aboard the Alliance Fairfax, Paul Pagano, had voluntarily surrendered his license last week before hearings began on his case. The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service had filed a complaint stemming from his time on board the Ro-Ro vessel that operates under charter to Maersk Line primarily transporting equipment for the U.S. Army.

4. Tradewinds (May 10, 2023): Seafarer surrenders licence over sexual harassment allegations on Maersk ship:

5. Maritime Executive (November 22, 2022): Maersk Settles Second Sexual Harassment Lawsuit by USMMA Midshipman

6. Tradewinds (November 23, 2022): Maersk Line and USMMA student settle second sexual misconduct at sea lawsuit: “Midshipman Y said the harassment she suffered was so bad that she slept locked in her bathroom with a knife”

7. TradewindsNews: Second USMMA student files lawsuit against Maersk unit over sexual harassment

8. CNN: Two students sue shipping giant Maersk, alleging sexual assault and harassment

9. Midshipman-Y vs. Maersk: Complaint Filed by Midshipman-Y in the Supreme Court of New York on June 14, 2022

   (Complaint alleges Midshipman-Y slept in a locked bathroom with a knife after a string of unwanted comments and touching from a shipmate)

10. Washington Post: Cadets suing shipping company, alleging rape and harassment at sea

11. El Pais: “Sexual harassment of sailors sees the light: After decades of silence about the abuses of shipping company crew members, two victims have gone to court in the United States.”