An engineer who had worked on an Ocean Ships-managed vessel has been accused of sexually assaulting a co-worker.

The US Coast Guard is seeking to revoke the merchant mariner credentials of Igor Lucarevskiy, who worked as a first assistant engineer on the 4,201-gt USNS Henson (built 1995). He denies the charges against him.

Coast Guard goes after seafarer’s licence over past child sexual assault conviction
 Read more

The survey ship is owned by the Military Sealift Command, the seaborne logistics division of the US Navy, and the seafarer was among the civilian crew provided by Ocean Ships, an affiliate of Houston-based Ocean Shipholding, at the time of the allegations in the case.

Legal papers filed before the US Coast Guard’s administrative law judge system show agency investigators launched the case last year.

They alleged that, while Lucarevskiy was ashore from the ship in April 2020, he “grabbed and pulled a crew member towards him intentionally pressing his penis through the clothing against the crew member’s vaginal area, without the crewmember’s permission” in a way intended to cause abuse.

Investigators told the Coast Guard judge that the engineer was also fired by the company for harassing conduct towards another fellow crew member in 2021, in addition to receiving a letter of warning for violating the company’s harassment policy.

The Coast Guard has also alleged sexual harassment by Lucarevskiy.

“Respondent made unwelcome verbal comments of a sexual nature about a crew member’s appearance and made unwelcome sexual advances such as massaging her leg under the table and waiting for her outside her stateroom,” investigating officer Mathew Schirle wrote in the complaint.

Lucarevskiy’s lawyer filed papers in March denying the charges against him.

Ocean Shipholdings and a lawyer for the seafarer did not immediately respond to TradeWinds’ request for comment.

A hearing before administrative law judge Timothy Stueve is scheduled for October, according to legal documents.

Read more