Says only 5% gender inclusion growth in seafaring despite IMO’s directives
Female Seafarers Association of Nigeria (FESAN) has decried the prevalence of a huge bias against female seafarers and rejection for employment by Nigerian ship owners.
The group also decried the issue of visa approvals in Nigeria for female seafarers, who have crewing employment with vessels in the United States (U.S), unlike the Indians and Philippines that have up to 10 years U.S visa approvals with ease.
The group stated this as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate the International Women’s Day 2024 on March 8 with the theme, ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.’
The President of FESAN, Koni Duniya, while speaking at a special edition of a virtual conversation on Maritime TV Africa, stressed that only five per cent growth in female seafaring has been recorded since 2019 in Nigeria despite the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) directives on gender inclusion in maritime.
At the virtual broadcast with the theme: “Female Inclusion in Seafaring: The Nigerian Case Study,” Duniya observed that at the lower-end of cadetship, FESAN’s record shows 100 junior cadets, while only three are currently in the senior cadre of the seafaring career.
“Many females remain at the bottom because of the gender bias in the maritime industry. Some others can’t progress to the senior level because they can’t afford the necessary training. For those whose parents were able to send them to school for the basic training, they can’t proceed further because of the high costs.
“Nevertheless, if they had been able to go onboard ships, they would use their stipends to augment their fees to upgrade their certificates.”
