Diversity News

When the newbuilt tanker vessel Fure Vyl leaves the shipyard, Ailene Barrios heads the technical department on board. She is one of very few Filipino women in the business who have advanced to be a Chief Engineer.Furetank hopes that more will follow.Barrios started working with Furetank 16 years ago after finishing her studies and has been continuously promoted as she has obtained her licenses.“Furetank has always supported me to do my best. Being promoted has come with some fear every time, but I have overcome it, being excited and always up for the challenge.

The second Women in Maritime Survey has been launched to gather baseline data about women’s participation in the maritime and ocean fields.Conducted every three years by the IMO and the Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA International), the survey takes a global snapshot of how many women work in these sectors and in what roles.The aim is to analyze trends and support the creation of programs and policies to boost women’s participation in maritime. The previous study…

A series of new recommendations have been published Danish Shipping that aim to end bullying and harassment onboard Danish-flagged ships.The recommendations were announced at Danish Shipping’s annual Blue Pride Bar event and handed over to the Minister of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, Morten Bødskov.The move follows the announcement in January 2024 by Bødskov of a series of initiatives to prevent bullying and harassment on Danish ships. One of these initiatives was the creation of best practice recommendations…

Cathrin Prikker has been appointed President of WISTA Germany and plans to use her platform to promote empowerment, connection and dialogue in the industry.Prikker heads up waste management company Top Glory Marine along with fellow Managing Director (MD), Silke Fehr.After entering the maritime industry and seeing it was largely dominated by men, Prikker became passionate about diversity and empowerment and joined WISTA after wanting to be involved in change through an organization…

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has awarded five scholarships to students at the University of Tasmania as part of its recognition of the importance of diversity.The funding of A$47,000 is part of its 2024 scholarship program.The recipients are:Tenisha Jones – AMSA Sara Bool Women in Maritime Engineering ScholarshipAngelica Starlight – AMSA First Year Access Scholarship for Maritime StudiesSamantha Roser – IMAS Environmental Excellence AMSA ScholarshipKyla Fuller and Tracey Vella – AMSA Vocational Near Coastal Seafaring Scholarship.AMSA Chief Executive Officer…

After its launch at last year’s London International Shipping Week, an exhibition spotlighting the inspirational stories of women in maritime is coming to Portsmouth, United Kingdom.Launching on Friday August 2, members of the public will be able to experience the free SHE_SEES exhibition hosted in Boathouse 4 at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, spearheaded by UK-based global safety and education charity Lloyd’s Register Foundation.The exhibition, hosted in partnership with Portsmouth Historic Quarter and the University of Portsmouth…

Guy Platten, Secretary General of ICS, has been awarded the prestigious Man of the Year Award by the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association , UK (WISTA, UK).The award ceremony was the flagship event of WISTA’s 50 Years Summer Celebration which took place at the IMO headquarters in London.The awards were presented by IMO Secretary General, Arsenio Dominguez, and President of WISTA UK, Monica Kohli.The award celebrates Guy Platten's unwavering commitment to advancing gender diversity and inclusion within the maritime industry.

The role women play in ensuring maritime safety will be celebrated worldwide by the IMO on this year's International Day for Women in Maritime. Observed globally each year on May 18, International Day for Women in Maritime aims to promote the recruitment, retention and empowerment of women in the sector, as well as a barrier-free work environment.Ahead of the day, the IMO will host an international symposium on Friday, May 17 at IMO headquarters in London, under the theme ‘Safe…

During this year’s annual conference held in Edinburgh, the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) took the opportunity to explore and debate the question of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) with the ambition of taking concrete steps to enhance its own representation and that of the marine insurance community more generally.Patrizia Kern-Ferretti, Chair of IUMI’s Nominating Committee, is driving the initiative and explained: “In 2010, after IUMI having been in existence for more than 135 years, I was only the second woman to chair an IUMI Technical Committee.

Seven IMO Member States have nominated a candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the IMO in what could be a win for diversity in maritime.Three of the seven are women, and if elected, Nancy Karigithu of Kenya would also be the first African to hold the post. The other female nominees are Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry (Dominica) and Minna Kivimäki (Finland).They are joined by nominees Moin Uddin Ahmed (Bangladesh), Suat Hayri Aka (Türkiye), Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco (Panama) and Zhang Xiaojie (China).The term of the current incumbent…