A 33-year-old man employed by Holland America Line was arrested by New Zealand Police on Tuesday and charged with sexual violation. Police were called on Tuesday afternoon while the vessel was docked in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, New Zealand to investigate an alleged rape and sexual assault reported to have occurred earlier that morning aboard the MS Noordam. The alleged victim is a cruise ship worker and per reports she and alleged perpetrator knew each other.
The alleged perpetrator is scheduled to appear in court on Friday. A spokeswoman for Holland America Line, which operates the ship and employed the two crew members, said no guests were involved in the alleged incident.
Holland America is not new to reports of sexual assaults on-board its vessels. In 2014, a room service attendant brutally assaulted, raped and attempted to murder a female passenger traveling on the MS Nieuw Amsterdam. The perpetrator, Ketut Pujayasa is currently serving a 30 year prison sentence after confessing to the crime.
