THE FEMALE MARCHANT NAVY AWARD WINNERS WERE CELEBRATED BY WISTA UK AND THE IMO

WISTA UK (Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association), celebrated its Summer Drinks ‘Saluting the Seafarer’ on Thursday, 14 July at the IMO (International Maritime Organization) and attended by more than 150 guests including fellow WISTA members from around the world.

WISTA UK part of WISTA International the world’s leading professional body for women working in the maritime industry recognised the Female winners of the Merchant Navy Award since its inception in 2016 by presenting them with a certificate and symbolic gift.

Female Merchant Navy Award Winners are:

• Capt. Susan Thomson for services to women in maritime and diversity
• Ms Claire Womersley for services to women in maritime and diversity
• Ms Fazilette Khan for services to the maritime environment
• Mrs Helene Peter-Davis for services to women in maritime
• Capt. Fran Collins for services to the marine passenger’s sector
• Capt. Jessica Tyson for services to the careers of young seafarers and women in maritime
• Capt. Belinda Bennett for services to the maritime in diversity and inclusion
• Capt. Susan E. Cloggie-Holden for services to maritime diversity and inclusion
• Ms Joanne Rawley for services to seafarer wellbeing and mental health
• Mrs Rachel Dunn for services in maritime

 

President WISTA UK, Senior Lawyer Monica Kohli, welcomed the guests and introduced  His Excellency Secretary General of IMO Kitack Lim.

HE Kitack Lim highlighted: “Maritime is crucial for international trade and played a key role in ensuring sustainable development. It also offers abundant career opportunities for everyone. Yet women continue to be underrepresented in all maritime fields, which needs to change. We must continue to push our collective endeavours to ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment in the maritime sector. (…) IMO has been straightening its efforts to address the gender imbalance utilising new methods to raise the visibility of women in maritime inspiring younger generations with role models. (…)

On 18th May this year, IMO and each member state celebrated the first International Day for Women in Maritime, a milestone point in this context. According to a 2021 survey conducted in collaboration between IMO and WISTA, the proportion of women employed as a seafarer is very small. Women are vital for the Maritime’s sustainable future, and it is very encouraging to see the award winners today. I want to express my heartfelt congratulations to all the Female Merchant Navy Award Winners.”

Victoria Race, Deputy Director of Maritime Strategy and Programmes at the Department for Transport, and her team are currently administering the nominations and announce the awards winners for 2022 later in the year.

Victoria Race underlined: “The Marchant Navy Medal is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate success across the maritime sector and we want to see more women receiving this recognition. Looking in the future I would like to see more diversity in terms of the applications and the nominations we see for the awards. I think we’ve done a really good job in ensuring that we recognize people from diverse backgrounds and that seafarers in the maritime sector are a diverse workforce. So at the nominations next year, we would like to see nominations as wide as possible.”

 

Capt. Jessica Tyson, Pilot and Consultant Marine Expert, Human Rights at Sea, was recognised for services to the careers of young seafarers and women in maritime stated about her journey: “What a ride! What a ride and still is! I am proud of my uniform who is think is highlighting the Merchant Navy, and I’m also proud of my achievements. I have a tremendous passion for life, for the sea, the industry as a whole. It’s a wonderful world where we need to have diversity, and there are some issues, nobody denies that, but actually seafarers are very good at accommodating. I find fascinating that this industry it is in constant dynamic change. Every job has boring bits and I suppose you have to generate your own interest or you don’t. It’s like every job, but you get paid to see to world and experience things for real.”    

Fazilette Khan, founder of GreenSeas Trust charity, whose efforts was recognised for services to the maritime environment, said: “It is rewarding to be recognized for what we are doing for the environmental side of the sea. GreenSeas Trust was established in 2003 to stop plastic from getting into the sea. Our main project is currently the BinForGreenSeas. The recycling bin is 1.5m in height, eye-catching with a strong environmental message which educates people. The focus is visual education. To put it into context, we have a bin in Canary Wharf and eight other locations, and each container collects approximately monthly. 4,800 plastic bottles.”

Capt. Susan Thomson, Head of Operations at BP, awarded for services to women in maritime and diversity highlighted: “Diversity, equality and inclusion are essential to me in my career, and the voice is much stronger with our collaboration in the maritime industry. I am fortunate to be supported by the organisation I work for. I have been working in the maritime for twenty-five years and am a great believer in apprenticeship and equality. You just need to be passionate about doing a good job in the industry. I love the people, I love that every day is different, I love the training program and there is also so much access to mentorship now. Also, at BP, we have an initiative Men as Allies, as training sessions to involve men in gender equity conversations, and they are very receptive.”

WISTA UK is the oldest of all the National WISTA Associations dating back to 1974.