Harrasment Suit against Blackwater

**Mikey** · May 13th, 2009, 04:22 PM

It appears Blackwater is in more hot water. According to the PilotOnline...

If three pending legal cases are any indication, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for the Blackwater counter-piracy ship. The company, now known as Xe, launched the 183-foot vessel McArthur last fall, saying it was ready to begin patrolling the Gulf of Aden to protect merchant vessels against pirate attacks. But legal papers allege that it’s the McArthur’s own crewmen that need protection – from their superior officers.

The picture of life aboard the McArthur that emerges from those documents seems ripped from the pages of a pirate yarn of yore: Verbal and physical abuse. Alcohol-fueled outbursts. Racial harassment and retaliation. And the punishment for loose lips: being clapped in irons.
One former crew member says that on the orders of the captain, he was thrown to the deck and handcuffed in retaliation for speaking to a newspaper reporter. He is suing for false imprisonment, saying he was unlawfully detained by being “placed in irons.”

Another crew member, who is black, says that he was subjected to racial epithets from the chief engineer and that when he complained, the captain did nothing about the harassment and retaliated by giving the seaman a poor evaluation.

A third man, the ship’s chief steward, says he was fired after he submitted a written statement to his superiors documenting the hostile work environment and racial harassment aboard the vessel.

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**Shellback** · May 13th, 2009, 08:20 PM

I have been under the asumption that blackwater hired ex military personnel..Maybe I'm wrong but that is one place that I would have thought professionalism would be at it's highest..

**Jeffrox** · May 14th, 2009, 05:38 AM

I can tell you the captain in question is NOT former military. I sailed with D'Alfio as captain on a different vessel last year - not only is he a screwed up anti social misfit with NO Bridge Resources Management skills, he most certainly IS a bi-polar manic boob. And I'm trying to be nice. Look up "Misfit" in the dictionary and you should find his photo there....Ya, I know, How does he keep getting hired? Because he talks a big line of B.S. Well, maybe this is the end of his license, hopefully.

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**saltydawgcaptain** · May 15th, 2009, 07:41 AM

Originally Posted by Jeffrox

I can tell you the captain in question is NOT former military. I sailed with D'Alfio as captain on a different vessel last year - not only is he a screwed up anti social misfit with NO Bridge Resources Management skills, he most certainly IS a bi-polar manic boob. And I'm trying to be nice. Look up "Misfit" in the dictionary and you should find his photo there....Ya, I know, How does he keep getting hired? Because he talks a big line of B.S. Well, maybe this is the end of his license, hopefully.

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Yeah, I remember this D'Alfio guy from Chouest. "Tyrant" suits him well, also. How they ever landed this catch is beyond me. Must not have done their homework at HR.

hn · May 15th, 2009, 09:34 PM

Probably because pay was so low... When I was talking to them they wanted me to come interview for OS position even though I applied for AB unlim. The master was only getting paid $350 according to job add... I did not see how they would get guys on the MacArthur overseas for peanuts. Glad I did not get the job because I may have been tossed in the ocean if that was the scenario....

**electro** · June 17th, 2009, 04:11 PM

Speaking of bipolar misfits and tyrants. Has anybody ever sailed with C/E Tom Yacabovithch? He used to be on the MV ADVANTAGE. He was a winner.

**Capt_Anonymous** · June 17th, 2009, 04:57 PM

We ought to think twice before we get busy slamming people by name here.

**Shellback** · June 17th, 2009, 05:29 PM

Originally Posted by Capt_Anonymous

We ought to think twice before we get busy slamming people by name here.

Right as usual C_A,

just so we are clear, as long as the subject of the criticism is " anonymous" he/she is fair game?

**Capt. Fran** · June 17th, 2009, 06:58 PM

Would it be wrong for me to try to get hired by those Blackwater jackarses just so I could get harassed, sue the livin' shiny out of 'em and live like a queen for awhile?

Hmmmmmm......

But, with my luck they would have already sent the crew to extensive "play nice and don't be a nimrod and oh by the way it is 2009 you idiot" school by the time I got there. Dammit. Guess I better keep buying lottery tickets.