A cruise line has argued in court that its captain was justified in detaining a Sydney tradie for several days after a young woman accused him of sexually abusing her during a threesome in his room

Royal Caribbean Cruises is appealing a decision to award Daniel Rawlings more than $ 100,000 in damages and legal costs after successfully suing the cruise giant last year.

The court heard that Mr. Rawlings was 28 when he was held in isolation for six days on the Explorer of the Seas in November 2016 after allegations were made by a woman named Ms. A., who was found confused and disoriented.

Mr. Rawlings of Sydney’s Northern Beaches denied any wrongdoing and was never charged by police.

In December, Judge John Hatzistergos ruled that the further detention of the air conditioner dealer was unreasonable and was based “on suspicion of a crime and not on any evidence.”

The court heard that Ms. A. was walking naked around the ship in the early hours of November 15, and told security that she had no recollection of what happened after she opened the ship’s nightclub, Dizzy’s, at around November 2 Left in the morning.

She was caught on CCTV walking into Mr Rawlings’ room with him and another woman and was later seen naked before going into an elderly couple’s room.

The other woman involved in the threesome told the district court last year that Ms. A “knew exactly what she was doing” during the consensual sex session that lasted several hours.

Judge Hatzistergos considered Mr Rawlings’ initial isolation justified for two days from November 15, 2016, as ship personnel were investigating a grave allegation against him.

But he decided that Captain Richard Sullivan’s decision to extend the detention on November 17 was contrary to the advice of a company security expert and appeared to be from the reaction of Ms. A.

However, the appellate court heard on Monday that Judge Hatzistergos had not properly considered “the risk of order on the ship” in view of the emotionally charged environment on board.

Royal Caribbean attorney Edward Cox said Captain Sullivan had the ultimate authority to make decisions and believed that locking Mr. Rawlings up would protect him, Ms. A., and save a potential crime scene.

Mr. Cox also argued that the decision to award Mr. Rawlings $ 97,394 was an exaggeration as it took into account the initial shock of initial incarceration that the judge deemed appropriate.

He said the ruling that Mr. Rawlings received $ 70,000 for the last three and a half days spent in a windowless room, received “room service” and watched television was “disproportionate”.

Mr Rawlings’ attorney David Stanton said the payout was fair, saying his client’s time in isolation caused undue stress and anxiety.

The court heard that Mr. Rawlings had not been given full details of why he was being detained and that he feared he would be turned over to foreign police after Captain Sullivan announced he wanted him off the ship in Noumea.

Mr Stanton said his client was stuck in a room with the door ajar, where guards checked on him every 30 minutes, and would sometimes storm him naked.

Mr. Rawlings even started smoking just to step out of the room, the court heard.

“I felt I had no rights,” Rawlings said before the district court last year.

Mr Rawlings said he burst into tears when Ms A’s mother confronted a security guard outside his door and yelled for him to be “handcuffed”.

The court heard that Mr. Rawlings was initially arrested after security guards believed that Ms. A might not have consented to sex because she was drunk, and her mother suspected that she might have been drugged.

Mr. Rawlings was held for most of the 10-day Sydney-to-Vanuatu trip that he booked with his best buddy for $ 2,500. He was detained in only shorts for two days.

The court heard that Captain Sullivan had intended to disembark Mr Rawlings at Noumea while the cruise continued to Sydney on November 16, but local authorities refused to allow it.

A police investigation found that Ms A’s memory of the night was disproved by CCTV footage on board the ship and that she could not recall the events in Mr Rawlings’ room.

The court reserved its decision.

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