Articles Posted in Sporting and Tour Boat Injuries

News broke yesterday of a horrific physical and sexual assault of a female passenger by a crewmember aboard Holland America’s cruise vessel Nieuw Amsterdam.  The altercation allegedly began because the 31-year-old passenger offended the crewmember when he delivered breakfast to her room.  The crewmember allegedly knocked three times before the passenger acknowledged him, and then from outside the room he heard a woman’s voice shout, “Wait a minute, son of a bitch!”  She later opened the door and the crewmember left the food.

The crewmember returned to the woman’s room later that day, but no one answered and he left.  That same evening, he sought after the woman on deck, “in order to punch her in the face for insulting him that morning.”  After realizing the location was too crowded, he left.

That night, the crewmember used his master key to enter the passenger’s room, and went onto the balcony to wait for her to return.  Upon her return, the crewmember is alleged to have attacked the woman, choking and punching her with whatever was available, including a laptop and a curling iron.  The passenger defended herself with a corkscrew.  The fight progressed to a balcony, where the crewmember is alleged to have tried to push the woman overboard.  The woman was finally able to break free, and escaped her room.  She got help from another passenger.