2022 Safer Seas Act Due to increasing reports of sexual assault and harassment within the U.S. military and maritime industry at large, U.S. Congress enacted the 2022 Safer Seas Act, which applies to US flag commercial vessels. This Act brought in numerous new requirements related to reporting, training and surveillance. Articles Steamship Mutual Published: January 02, 2024 Contact author Download article pdf Following on from this, Congress continues to implement new legislation addressing sexual assault and sexual harassment and the National Defense Authorisation Act of 2023 (NDAA) created new vessel requirements, under Title 46 of the United States Code, in relation to sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH) prevention, reporting, and compliance. These requirements are intended to enhance crew safety and eliminate sexual assault and harassment within the maritime industry. SASH continues to be a focus of the United States Coast Guard (USCG). Further review of these new statutory requirements is being conducted by USCG to see whether further regulation is required. In the meantime, USCG has issued the following guidance upon the implementation of the new laws: Crew resting areas and washing places must now prominently display details concerning company policies, how to report issues and steps to respond to sexual assault, harassment and sexual harassment. Applicable vessels are now required to install and maintain video and audio surveillance in areas adjacent to cabins and retain recordings for at least 1 year, or 5 years when the footage is associated with an incident. In addition, vessel owners and employers are required to train crewmembers in responding to and reporting sexual assault, harassment and sexual harassment. Applicable vessels are now required to establish master key controls and related procedures for use of master keys, to include a list of authorised cabin master key users and a logbook of master key use. These logs must be made available to