A senior officer has been court-martialled after she and senior crew members secretly installed Wi-Fi on a US warship to watch movies, text and check sports scores.

Grisel Marrero was command senior chief of the USS Manchester when a US Navy investigation found she and other crew members had hidden a Wi-Fi device in a printer while deployed in the western Pacific with the US 7th Fleet.

The scheme involved installing a Starlink satellite dish on top of the ship costing $US2800 ($4200) and organising a payment plan of $US1000 a month for the Starlink bill.

Starlink, an Elon Musk company, uses satellites to provide high-speed internet access in remote locations. Marrero claimed the Wi-Fi system was to boost morale, but the investigation found it was a breach of security.

“The installation and usage of Starlink, without the approval of higher headquarters, poses a serious risk to mission, operational security, and information security,” the investigation found.

The investigation concluded that the scheme was led by Marrero and involved the entire 15-member chief’s mess. Neither rank-and-file sailors nor the ship’s command were involved.

‘The gig is up’

The scheme was uncovered when junior sailors suspected there was Wi-Fi onboard, but the password was hidden from them. Despite several searches by the ship’s commanding officer, the combat systems officer eventually took a photo of the dish on the ship’s weather deck.

“The gig is up,” Marrero texted one of the scheme’s participants.