Virgin Voyages Fires Crew Member After Sexual Assault Allegation

A Virgin Voyages crew member was fired and repatriated to Peru after a fellow crew member accused him of sexually assaulting her aboard Valiant Lady during the ship’s scheduled drydock at Fincantieri’s Palermo yard. Italian Maritime Border Police opened an investigation into the allegation, which was reported overnight May 20-21 while the ship was out of passenger service.

The case involves two Peruvian crew members who had been in a relationship for about three years and were sharing a cabin with company approval. It also falls into a category of crew-on-crew allegations that can sit outside the public U.S. cruise-crime data tracked under the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act when non-U.S. crew members are involved.

Palermo police documented the allegation

The 26-year-old complainant told investigators that her 32-year-old former partner became aggressive after drinking, groped her without consent and tried to force himself on her inside their shared cabin. She was able to leave the cabin and seek help from other crew members, who alerted authorities.

Italy’s Maritime Border Police interviewed the woman in a protected setting under red-code procedures and documented her statement. Medical examinations at Palermo’s Polyclinic Hospital later found marks on her arms and hands described as consistent with what she told investigators.

The woman also told investigators that the couple had argued previously, particularly when alcohol was involved, but that she had not experienced an incident like the one alleged in Palermo. The accused crew member was removed from Valiant Lady, had his employment terminated and was placed on a return flight to Peru after coordination between ship personnel and police.

Virgin policy and vessel operations

Virgin Voyages did not comment publicly on the allegation. The line’s code of conduct says criminal acts or allegations of criminal acts “will be reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency,” and lists uninvited physical contact, sexual misconduct, violence and threats of violence as prohibited conduct.

Virgin allows crew members in relationships to share cabins when rank and cabin availability permit. The line’s crew alcohol rules also prohibit alcohol consumption within four hours before duty and require crew members to remain below a 0.05% blood-alcohol level.

There was no guest safety exposure in the Palermo case because Valiant Lady was in drydock and no paying passengers were onboard.

Valiant Lady resumed service May 25 on a six-night one-way sailing from Rome to Barcelona. The ship is scheduled to operate Mediterranean itineraries from Barcelona before repositioning to Northern Europe later in the summer.

Public crime data has reporting limits

The Department of Transportation publishes cruise incident reports under the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act for ships that embark or disembark passengers in the United States. The law requires covered criminal activity to be reported to the FBI, and DOT posts incident tables on its cruise safety page.

DOT data for the first quarter of 2026 counted 43 crimes across cruise lines, including 37 sexual crimes, with one Virgin Voyages crime recorded. The public system does not capture every crime at sea and excludes some cases involving non-U.S. citizens and non-American crew members.

The Valiant Lady allegation follows a separate April crew-on-crew case aboard Celebrity Xcel, where a crew member was arrested after an alleged rape of another employee. In the Palermo case, the woman’s return-to-duty status was not disclosed, and it remained unclear whether Italian prosecutors would pursue charges after the accused crew member’s repatriation.