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MOL hires first female ship captain, taking over helm of car carrier
来源：shippingazette 编辑：编辑部 发布：2023/07/21 16:43:16
JAPAN's Mitsui O S K Lines (MOL) has appointed its first female ship captain, Naomi Matsushita, who will take command of the car carrier Beluga Ace, according to the Philippines' PortCalls.
It's the first time a Japanese shipping company has assigned a female seafarer to actually serve as a captain. She was appointed captain effective June 6, 2023.
In a statement, the MOL Group said Ms Matsushita gained onboard experience mainly on car carriers and containerships since joining the shipping firm.
Onshore, she has been active in a "wide range of fields" such as support for the business divisions and ship management, drawing on the experience and skills she has gained through working onboard.
The shipping company said this is also part of its "promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)," including the advancement of more active roles for women.
There were only a few occasions in the past when a woman was appointed captain of a merchant vessel. The first woman professional captain was Anna Ivanovna Shchetinina, a native of Vladivostok in Russia, who was appointed in 1935.
More recently, Egyptian female student Marwa Elselehdar struggled to get enrolled in the Department of Maritime Transport and Technology at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport as it only accepted men, according to Wikipedia.
She submitted her application and after much perseverance and a legal review, she was accepted, making her the first woman in the department among 1,200 men.
After graduating in 2013, she joined the crew of the AIDA IV. During the opening ceremony of the new Suez Canal in 2015, then First Mate Elselehdar skippered AIDA IV through the new route. She was around twenty-four, the youngest and the first Egyptian female merchant marine officer to do so.
Just seven months ago, Wilhelmsen Ship Management appointed its first female Korean captain, Lee Eun Ran, one of the few maritime women in Korean with that rank.
"As one of the few female captains in Korea and the first in Wilhelmsen, I hope my achievement can inspire more female seafarers to break the glass ceiling and younger generations to consider seafaring as a career," Ms Lee said.
It's the first time a Japanese shipping company has assigned a female seafarer to actually serve as a captain. She was appointed captain effective June 6, 2023.
In a statement, the MOL Group said Ms Matsushita gained onboard experience mainly on car carriers and containerships since joining the shipping firm.
Onshore, she has been active in a "wide range of fields" such as support for the business divisions and ship management, drawing on the experience and skills she has gained through working onboard.
The shipping company said this is also part of its "promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)," including the advancement of more active roles for women.
There were only a few occasions in the past when a woman was appointed captain of a merchant vessel. The first woman professional captain was Anna Ivanovna Shchetinina, a native of Vladivostok in Russia, who was appointed in 1935.
More recently, Egyptian female student Marwa Elselehdar struggled to get enrolled in the Department of Maritime Transport and Technology at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport as it only accepted men, according to Wikipedia.
She submitted her application and after much perseverance and a legal review, she was accepted, making her the first woman in the department among 1,200 men.
After graduating in 2013, she joined the crew of the AIDA IV. During the opening ceremony of the new Suez Canal in 2015, then First Mate Elselehdar skippered AIDA IV through the new route. She was around twenty-four, the youngest and the first Egyptian female merchant marine officer to do so.
Just seven months ago, Wilhelmsen Ship Management appointed its first female Korean captain, Lee Eun Ran, one of the few maritime women in Korean with that rank.
"As one of the few female captains in Korea and the first in Wilhelmsen, I hope my achievement can inspire more female seafarers to break the glass ceiling and younger generations to consider seafaring as a career," Ms Lee said.