proceed into Iranian territorial waters, according to a spokesman for the US Defense Department. When the ship's master declined, one of the Iranian craft fired shots across the bridge of Maersk Tigris. The master complied and proceeded into Iranian waters near Larak Island. The US Navy sent aircraft and a destroyer, , to monitor the situation. Maersk stated they have agreed to pay an Iranian company $163,000 over a dispute about ten container boxes transported to Dubai in 2005. The court ruling allegedly ordered a fine of $3.6 million. Regulation violations and contract fraud In October 2010, Maersk plead guilty to 8 counts of failing to provide adequate hours of rest and 1 count of failing to improve the situation. In February 2014, Maersk paid 8.7 million to settle allegations that it Maersk had forged documents on a contract to ship cargo to Afghanistan. The government says they uncovered 277 instances "in which claims verifying receipt of shipments in Afghanistan contained forged signatures." The settlement included no admission of guilt. Sexual harassment suspensions and lawsuits In May 2021, a Maersk officer's license was suspended after he was accused of sexual assault including abusive, unwanted, and inappropriate touching in violation of Maersk anti-harassment policy. On 12 October 2021, Maersk suspended five employees for their involvement in the rape of a 19-year-old girl. In June 2022, Hope Hicks, formerly known as "Midshipman X" filed a lawsuit against Maersk, alleging that the company failed to protect her from rampant sexual abuse. In the same month, a second US Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) student under the alias "Midshipman Y" filed a suit against Maersk, also alleging that the company did not protect her from sexual abuse and violence. Pollution from fuels In 2009, it was estimated that the Maersk fleet's use of bunker fuel released sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, into the atmosphere corresponding to the emissions from 9 billion cars, with resultant serious health, environmental, and climate change impacts related. One of the health problems with nitrogen oxides, in particular, is, that an ethnically diverse cohort of 161,808 postmenopausal women, participated in a study published in 2023, found nitrogen oxides to be a major contributor to the bone deterioration in postmenopausal women, where one in two women over 50 years experiencing a bone fracture, and the lumbar spine is one of the most susceptible sites of damage from it, and is found twice