Mutiny at sea, 21st century version?

It seems the German sail training ship Gorch Fock is at the center of a maritime controversy.

Gorch Fock in 2006 (image courtesy of Wikipedia)

The trouble began in November last year, when a female student fell from one of the ship's masts and was killed during a training cruise to South America. This led to unrest among the trainees on board. The BBC initially reported:

The Gorch Fock tall ship was ordered to dock in the Argentine city of Ushuaia to await experts, after reports of a revolt in November.

Naval cadets were said to have refused to climb a 40-metre mast after a student fell off and died.

. . .

According to a leaked parliamentary report, several cadets on the Gorch Fock were reluctant to climb the mast in November following the death of a 25-year-old student - known only as Sarah S - during a stop-over in Salvador de Bahia in Brazil.

Hellmut Koenigshaus, parliament's liaison to the military, wrote that the cadets "did not want to go aloft after the painful loss of their comrade and others did not want to continue on the Gorch Fock", Germany's Bild reported.

The ship's commanding officer, Captain Norbert Schatz, reportedly threatened to return the trainees to Germany and declare them unfit for service, according to testimony from several of them cited in the report.

Four cadets were accused of "inciting rebellion", AFP news agency reported.

After the incident, the group of all 70 cadets were flown back to Germany and the Ministry of Defence decided their training on Gorch Fock was finished.

There's more at the link.

However, it soon emerged that there was far more going on beneath the surface (you should pardon the expression) than at first appeared. Within a day, further steps were taken.

German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has dismissed the commander of the naval training ship Gorch Fock after rumors of mutiny following a fatal accident on board.

Guttenberg ordered the ship to "return directly to Germany" and asked for Commander Norbert Schatz to be temporarily relieved of his duty, according to media reports.

The Gorch Fock "will be removed from the list of ships at the ready, until a commission is formed including members of the German Bundestag that can determine whether the Gorch Fock has a future on the open sea as a training ship and emissary of Germany," the minister said. It will be docked in Kiel until further notice.

Again, more at the link.

Still more emerged soon afterwards. The Maritime Executive reported:

A report leaked Tuesday details inappropriate behavior onboard a German navy training vessel that may have in part led to the deaths of two female sailors.

In a written report, Hellmut Koningshau, the government official put in charge of the investigation, details several lewd and inappropriate acts onboard the ship. His accounts have given the GORCH FOCK, a new nick name in Germany, the ship is now dubbed as 'Germany’s largest floating brothel'.

Lena Seele, 25, was reportedly bullied into climbing a mast in November, where she fell to her death. Koninsgshau’s report claims that Seele’s death was so poorly handled (with a party thrown by the officers just days later) that following her death several cadets onboard refused to follow orders. The mutiny prompted an investigation. During the investigation several cadets have come forward with accounts of sexual harassment, bulling, and intoxication onboard the vessel. Another female cadet onboard drowned two years ago, her parents believe she was the victim of sexual harassment and are demanding a full investigation.

One cadet described being on the ship as being a lot like jail, with new recruits often being sexually harassed in the showers by officers. Additional reports claim that new cadets were forced into kissing the commander’s mud covered feet while he wore a blond wig, pretending to be Thetis the Greek water goddess. Pictures published in the German newspaper, Bild, show cadets being dunked into a dingy full of a dark slop and kneeling down in front of the 'goddess' commander.

More at the link.

Nothing more has come out since that last report, and the ship's on her way back to Germany under a new skipper. I'll be watching with interest to see what develops. As things stand, if it can be proven that at least one, and possibly two, deaths were caused by incompetence and poor seamanship, compounded by what sounds like truly bizarre behavior on the part of the ship's officers, it'll be a monumental black eye for the German Navy in general, and its sail training program in particular.

Frankly, if the shenanigans described in the final report above are correct, it sounds like the former captain and his officers could obtain employment as entertainers on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg. They may just have to do that . . . because I think their naval careers just came to an abrupt end!

Peter