Shipmanager Wallem has escaped any penalty after one of its executives told a female cadet it did not employ "girls" on its clients' ships.
A UK employment appeal tribunal found that UK law does not protect seafarers from sex discrimination if they work overseas on foreign-flagged vessels.
It ruled the original 2018 tribunal was correct to find that it had no power to decide a claim by cadet Sophia Walker against the Hong Kong company and its former employee Brian Phipps.
Walker had qualified as a cadet deck officer and applied in the UK for work on a foreign-registered ship.
She was told she would not be offered work because of her sex, the ruling said, as Wallem recruited only men, not women, to work on its managed vessels.
Wallem admitted that this was an act of direct sex discrimination.
Claim would have succeeded
If the law had applied, the tribunal also found that Walker's claim for victimisation would have succeeded, though her claim for harassment would have failed.
And the tribunal would have awarded compensation for injury to feelings of £9,000 ($11,800).
But it dismissed the appeal "with regret" on the jurisdiction point arising from the 2011 Equality Act (Work on Ships and Hovercraft).
"The respondent’s conduct had been reprehensible, but the tribunal had been powerless to right the injustice done to the claimant," the ruling said.
"The claimant’s remedy, if any, lies against the United Kingdom itself."
It added: "The secretary of state may well consider it wise to revisit the scope of the 2011 regulations. A review and report on their impact is due to take place soon."
Controversial email
The case arose from an incident in 2016, when Wallem sent Phipps to interview graduates of Blackpool & Fylde College, including the son of the then managing director of the Wallem shipmanagement division David Price.
After some correspondence between Wallem and a Mr Ward, a senior tutor at the college, Phipps emailed Ward saying that Wallem was “an equal opportunity company” but “will not offer places for the female cadets because we can’t offer the appropriate on-board environment …”.
He went on to give his opinion that “girls have a place and a chance to succeed” but suggested the cruise industry would be better for them.
Ward forwarded that email to the male candidates and copied it to the claimant, who made a formal complaint to Wallem, saying she was outraged and disgusted.
She pointed out that her maritime qualifications and experience matched those of the male applicants.
'Deep humiliation'
She said she had “sustained deep humiliation”, demanded a response and said she had contacted various news and media and other organisations.
"There was then a flurry of internal correspondence within Wallem, not so much about any wrong done to the claimant but about annoyance with Mr Phipps for having damaged Wallem’s reputation and about how to limit the damage," the tribunal said.
Phipps was suspended and subsequently dismissed by Wallem.
Price wrote to the claimant, apologising and offering a dialogue.
But he hoped that conciliation service ACAS might “tell her not to be silly and let the matter drop”, the ruling said.
Wallem chief executive Frank Coles told TradeWinds: "This matter occurred in 2016.
"Wallem obviously regrets the actions of the employees involved. They were not the actions or values of Wallem then or now."
He added: "Wallem was then and continues to be a diversity supporter. As anyone in the industry knows, Wallem has for over 10 years numerous diversity employees at sea and ashore. The Wallem board, leadership and management actively support women in the workplace at sea and ashore."
He said the company could not comment further as the matter remains in the courts.
