6.7 Violence and Harassment: Prevention, Recognition and Response (2026 Standards)

6.7 Violence and Harassment: Prevention, Recognition and Response (2026 Standards)

Core Professional Standard: On 23 May 2024 the IMO adopted Resolution MSC.560(108), replacing STCW Table A-VI/1-4 in its entirety with effect from 1 January 2026. The new table keeps the six existing competences and adds a seventh: contribute to the prevention of and response to violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault. This section covers that competence.

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1. What the Amended Table Actually Requires

The Code splits the new competence into two halves, and examiners follow that split.

Prevention

• Basic knowledge and understanding of violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault, and the continuum of harm.
• Basic knowledge and understanding of the consequences on victims, perpetrators, bystanders and stakeholders, and the effects on safety, health and well-being.
• Understanding that, among others, abuse of power relations, discrimination, stress, isolation, fatigue, drugs or alcohol may contribute.

Responding

• Ability to identify violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault.
• Basic knowledge of the action to take to intervene in and report it.
• Understanding the basic principles of trauma-informed response and how to provide appropriate support to a victim, bystanders and yourself.

The Continuum of Harm

The phrase is in the Code text and is worth understanding literally. Behaviours sit on a spectrum, and the lower end normalises the higher end:

   'Banter' and put-downs -> exclusion and undermining -> persistent bullying
        -> sexual comments and unwanted attention -> coercion
             -> unwanted physical contact -> sexual assault

The operational point is that a ship where nationality jokes and humiliation are tolerated in the messroom is a ship where a serious incident is more likely and less likely to be reported. Intervening at the low end is the prevention.

Consequences

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2. January 1, 2026 IMO Mandate: Resolution MSC.560(108)

On 23 May 2024 the IMO Maritime Safety Committee adopted Resolution MSC.560(108), which amends part A of the STCW Code (not the Convention text) with a global entry-into-force date of January 1, 2026. Its operative clause replaces Table A-VI/1-4 in its entirety and adds one new competence to the six that already existed.

Set out below is what those behaviours actually look like on board, and why the maritime workplace is structurally more exposed to them than a shore workplace is.

                      THE SPECTRUM OF PROHIBITED BEHAVIORS
  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │ 1. WORKPLACE BULLYING & INTIMIDATION                                   │
  │ • Repeated, unreasonable behavior intended to undermine or humiliate. │
  │ • Microaggressions, yelling, public degradation, malicious isolation. │
  ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │ 2. PSYCHOLOGICAL & DISCRIMINATORY HARASSMENT                           │
  │ • Hostile conduct targeting race, nationality, religion, gender, age.  │
  │ • Derogatory jokes, offensive slurs, deliberate exclusion from tasks.  │
  ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │ 3. SEXUAL HARASSMENT (Hostile Environment & Quid Pro Quo)              │
  │ • Unwelcome sexual advances, comments, requests for sexual favors.     │
  │ • Quid Pro Quo: Conditioning promotions/ratings on sexual compliance.  │
  ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │ 4. SEXUAL ASSAULT & PHYSICAL VIOLENCE (SASH)                           │
  │ • Non-consensual sexual contact, physical coercion, violent assault.   │
  │ • Major criminal offense under international and domestic law.        │
  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Maritime-Specific Risk Factors & Power Dynamics

The maritime environment possesses unique characteristics that amplify vulnerability to harassment and abuse:

• Confinement in Isolated Living Quarters: Seafarers live, eat, and sleep in the same facility with coworkers for months at sea without the ability to return home at the end of a shift.
• Steep Hierarchical Structure: Maritime operations rely on a rigid chain of command. An extreme power imbalance exists between senior officers and junior crew, cadets, or entry-level ratings.
• Asymmetric Dependency: Supervisors control performance evaluations, sea-time sign-offs, overtime allocation, and contract renewals, creating fear of professional blacklisting if abuse is reported.
• Remote Operations: Vessels operating deep-sea have no immediate physical access to shoreside law enforcement, victim advocacy centers, or medical facilities.

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3. Active Bystander Intervention: The "5 Ds" Framework

Under the 2026 STCW standards, every seafarer is trained as an active bystander empowered to disrupt inappropriate behavior before it escalates into violence or assault.

                       THE "5 Ds" BYSTANDER INTERVENTION MODEL
                                        │
        ┌───────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┐
        ▼                               ▼                               ▼
    1. DIRECT                       2. DISTRACT                     3. DELEGATE
  • Confront behavior calmly      • Interrupt escalating situation• Alert a supervisor, Safety
  • "That comment is unacceptable"• "Chief Mate needs you on bridge"  Officer, Master, or DPA
  • Call out violation in moment  • Ask work-related question     • Enlist senior leadership
        │                                                               │
        └───────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┘
                                        ▼
                        ┌───────────────────────────────┐
                        ▼                               ▼
                    4. DELAY                        5. DOCUMENT
                  • Check in with victim privately• Record contemporaneous notes
                  • Offer validation & support    • Log date, time, location, quotes
                  • Explain reporting options     • Provide notes to victim/investigator

The 5 Ds in Shipboard Practice

1. Direct: Intervene directly in the situation by naming the behavior. Example: If an officer makes a crude, degrading remark to a cadet in the messroom, a bystander says clearly: "That kind of language is disrespectful and has no place on this ship."
2. Distract: Create an immediate operational diversion to separate the parties and defuse tension without direct confrontation. Example: Interrupting an inappropriate interaction by stepping between them and saying: "Excuse me, Second Mate, the Chief Engineer needs to see you immediately in the engine control room."
3. Delegate: Seek assistance from a third party with higher formal authority, such as the Shipboard Safety Officer, Chief Mate, Master, or shoreside Designated Person Ashore (DPA).
4. Delay: If unable to intervene safely in the moment, check in with the affected person immediately afterward. Express solidarity ("I saw what happened, it was wrong, and you did not deserve that") and assist them in accessing medical care or filing a grievance.
5. Document: Write down detailed, objective notes as soon as possible after witnessing an incident (exact date, time, location, verbatim words, and names of witnesses). Give these notes to the victim or reporting officer to support formal investigations.

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4. Onboard Response Protocols, Victim Care & Reporting Pathways

                      SASH RESPONSE & REPORTING PATHWAYS

  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │ STEP 1: IMMEDIATE PHYSICAL SAFETY & MEDICAL CARE                       │
  │ • Move victim to a secure, lockable cabin. Secure medical treatment.   │
  │ • Administer trauma-informed care; offer confidential communication.   │
  ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │ STEP 2: EVIDENCE PRESERVATION                                          │
  │ • Do not disturb crime scene; preserve clothing in paper bags.         │
  │ • Secure CCTV footage, keycard access logs, and electronic messages.   │
  ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │ STEP 3: FORMAL REPORTING & COMPANY NOTIFICATION                        │
  │ • Report to Master, Safety Officer, or shoreside DPA.                  │
  │ • Use company 24/7 confidential reporting hotline / whistleblowing.    │
  │ • U.S. Vessels (Safer Seas Act): Report to USCG IMMEDIATELY (10104).   │
  ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │ STEP 4: INVESTIGATION & NON-RETALIATION PROTECTIONS                    │
  │ • Formal shoreside investigation by independent investigators.         │
  │ • Strict legal anti-retaliation protections for victims and witnesses. │
  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Victim Care & Preservation of Evidence

• Trauma-Informed Support: The victim's physical safety, mental well-being, and dignity must remain the paramount priority. Provide immediate access to medical treatment, emergency contraception, STI prophylaxis, and confidential tele-medical mental health counseling.
• Evidence Preservation: In sexual assault cases, physical evidence must be carefully protected for law enforcement: advise the victim not to bathe or wash clothing, store physical items in clean paper bags (not plastic, which causes mold and degrades DNA), lock and seal the incident location, and preserve digital keycard logs and electronic correspondence.
• U.S. Safer Seas Act Compliance (46 U.S.C. § 10104): The responsible entity of a documented vessel must report any complaint or incident of sexual harassment or sexual assault of which it is made aware to the Commandant of the Coast Guard. The statute does not give a 24-hour grace period — the report must be made immediately after the responsible entity gains knowledge, by the fastest telecommunication channel available. A knowing failure to report exposes the entity to a civil penalty of up to $50,000, and separate reporting duties run to the vessel owner and, where a credentialed mariner is involved, to the National Maritime Center.