A cruise ship worker faces extradition to the island to face charges of sexual assault he allegedly committed on a female passenger in August 2025.

The defendant, who cannot be named, was working on the Bermudian-registered Queen Anne on August 13 last year when a female guest made a complaint that he had raped her in her cabin.

The ship’s captain stated that when staff made her aware of the complaint, at about 7.30pm on the day in question, the ship was in international waters between Iceland and Scotland.

On August 17, 2025, the man was arrested at Southampton docks in the South of England, pursuant to a provisional warrant issued the day before.

He appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on August 18, 2025, and was remanded in custody.

A request for his extradition to the island was served on September 24, 2025.

An extradition hearing took place on March 10 this year and the judge made his ruling on May 1.

In the intervening period, the respondent applied for and was granted conditional bail on April 1. He remains on bail.

The judge ruled that Bermudian law does not extend to acts committed within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Britain or another state, within territorial waters, or within any other zone falling short of the high seas as defined in Article 86 of United Nations Convention of the Law of the Seas.

He also said no navigational or positional data, no chart evidence, and no expert evidence on the precise location of the vessel as of August 13, 2025, had been placed before the court.

The judge refused to send the case to the British Secretary of State, and instead ordered the respondent’s discharge and the case was appealed.

At an appeals hearing on October 27 at the High Court in London, Lady Justice Andrews and Mr Justice Bourne allowed Bermuda’s appeal in the case.

The court ruled that the provision that gives Bermuda extraterritorial jurisdiction over what happened on the vessel is in domestic legislation of the requesting state, that being Bermuda.

“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.

The court concluded that the judge should have found that the offence specified in the request is an extradition offence under the UK Extradition Act 2023.

The case must now be sent to the British Secretary of State to decide whether to order extradition.

The appeal centred on jurisdiction over alleged offences at sea but makes no finding of guilt.

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