UK Court Revives Extradition Case for Queen Anne Crew Member
A passenger made the complaint on August 13, 2025, when she said Queen Anne was in international waters between Iceland and Scotland.
London’s High Court has allowed Bermuda’s appeal in the extradition case of a Queen Anne crew member accused of sexually assaulting a passenger. Lady Justice Andrews and Mr Justice Bourne ruled at an October 27 hearing that the alleged offence qualified for extradition under UK law.
The decision overturns an earlier order discharging the man after a dispute over Bermuda’s jurisdiction aboard the Bermuda-registered Cunard ship. The ruling made no finding of guilt.
The man, who cannot be named, was working aboard the vessel on August 13, 2025, when a female passenger complained that he had raped her in her cabin.
The captain stated that staff informed her of the complaint at about 7.30pm that day. At that time, she said, the ship was in international waters between Iceland and Scotland.
Jurisdiction at the centre of the appeal
The appeal judges held that the provision giving Bermuda extraterritorial jurisdiction over the alleged conduct was contained in Bermuda’s domestic legislation. They concluded that the lower court should have found the allegation constituted an extradition offence under the UK Extradition Act.
“The evidence makes it clear that the alleged conduct is punishable in Bermuda by a sentence of at least 12 months’ imprisonment,” the judges ruled.
In a May 1 ruling following a March 10 extradition hearing, the earlier judge held that Bermudian law did not extend to acts committed within Britain’s exclusive economic zone, another state’s exclusive economic zone, territorial waters, or other maritime zones outside the high seas covered by Article 86 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Article 86 excludes exclusive economic zones, territorial and internal waters, and archipelagic waters from the convention’s high-seas provisions.
The judge also noted that the court had received no navigational records, positional data, charts or expert evidence establishing the vessel’s precise location on the day of the alleged assault. He declined to send the case to the British Secretary of State and ordered the man’s discharge. Bermuda appealed.
Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory, administers its own ship registry through the Bermuda Shipping and Maritime Authority. A vessel registered there is legally a British ship, but it is not a UK-registered vessel.
Arrest and extradition proceedings
The worker was arrested at Southampton docks on August 17, 2025, under a provisional warrant issued the previous day. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on August 18 and was remanded in custody.
The request for his extradition to Bermuda was served on September 24, 2025. He subsequently applied for conditional bail, which was granted on April 1, and remains on bail.
The case must now be sent to the British Secretary of State, who will decide whether to order his extradition.
