A cadet at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) has publicly identified herself as “Midshipman X,” a sexual assault survivor who was attacked during a 2019 training cruise aboard the commercial ship Alliance Fairfax.
Midshipman Hope Hicks, a senior at the New York-based federal maritime academy, has filed a civil lawsuit against Maersk, a shipping giant that operated the Alliance Fairfax at the time of the alleged attack.
The USMMA is a federal service academy like West Point, but it primarily focuses on providing mariner officers for the civilian U.S. merchant fleet.
Midshipman Hicks, who was 19 at the time, was aboard the Alliance Fairfax as part of her “Sea Year” training period.