Gender Diversity takes centre stage at 2023 edition of Maritime SheEO Conference

Diversity is no more a buzz word, it’s the heartbeat of progress, essence of innovation and the soul of a thriving society, a message delivered loud and clear at the 2023 edition of the Maritime SheEO Conference. Maritime SheEO Conference was established in 2019 and since then three events have been held sharing knowledge and inspiration. It has become a testament to the incredible strength within diversity.

Taking forward the tradition of inspiring and being inspired, Sanjam Sahi Gupta, Founder of Maritime SheEO, welcomed the august gathering, as she shared her vision for establishing this conference – to create a space where individuals from across the globe can come together, share unique perspectives and engage in meaningful conversations.

A business case study has also been conducted for diversity in India, encouraging companies to increase hiring of women. IMO has also funded a Leadership Accelerator Programme for women in Maritime, benefitting 90 women globally, so far. Many participants have advanced in their careers, quantifying the noteworthy success of their efforts. The SheEO Online Group is an online community of women for mentoring at various levels. It is also supported by the American P&I Club.

There has been a significant improvement in gender diversity since 2019, as IMO declared the theme “Empowering women in Maritime.” The conversations at this year’s event further promoted gender diversity and inclusivity, sharing success stories and fostering collaboration among industry leaders.      

Saifuddin Hajee, Chairman of SHM Group, a marine safety and security equipment manufacturing company, took a quick preview of his business that was established in 1885. During those times there was hardly any focus on gender diversity, but today his company boasts of 21% women employees, protecting life and property in the maritime sector. In 2001, the company diversified into ship care and in 2007 HOMA Engineering Works was acquired, manufacturing bullet proof boats for coast guard, post 9/11. The company offers products that are at par with China in cost and quality.   

Shyam Jagannathan, IAS – Director General of Shipping, Government of India, presented the case for diversity to promote innovation and growth. India being among the top 5 nations providing seafarers globally. Out of the 2.58 lakh seafarers out there, women account for 0.5%. The Indian government has taken several strong measures, such as the “Women’s Power Bill” approved by the Parliament, where women form 15% of the total members. Further, the Maritime India Vision 2030 encourages women participation, recruitment, career counselling for women, providing scholarships to women in education.

Gender sensitisation, pre-sea and post-sea gender competitiveness and honour and dignity for women at sea, are some of the major causes towards which DG Shipping is working at. It has come up with a policy of zero tolerance in harassment while onboard ships, training women for career on ships and maritime engagement. He touched on several contemporary issues such as climate change, environmental conservation and the current geopolitical dynamics.

H.E. Folakemi Akinleye – Ambassador of Nigeria to the Philippines and Cambodia, brought to the fore the need to increase awareness on gender equality in Nigeria and Africa. Sharing an example she said, Nigeria could see the first lady driving a car only in 1951. The power of social media should be leveraged for promoting gender diversity. The UNSDG is a step in the right direction for promoting women empowerment, bringing more women in decision making roles, eradicating poverty and bringing shared domestic responsibilities at the social level. She pointed at the need for ending all sorts of discrimination against women, bringing up women in leadership roles, access to employment, financial resources and fostering policies for gender diversity.

Gender gap in maritime sector is striking, particularly in seafarers, said H.E. Cecilie Myrseth – Minister of Trade and Industries, Norway. She is happy to see progress in recruitment of women in off shore jobs in India. Creating positive working environment, attitude, removing harassment, are some of the aspects on which Norway is working upon. The gender equality structure has been launched in Norway, which has four focus areas:

• Recruitment and role models
• Creating working environment that benefits everyone
• Work life should be free from harassment
• A flexible work environment with focus on maternal and parental needs          

Only 11% of seafarers on-board Norwegian ships are women and this gender gap has to be addressed immediately, informed Mr. Arne Jan Flølo – Consul General, The Royal Norwegian Consulate General Mumbai. The Norwegian government is working closely with the industry to close this gap. Indian seafarers are the second largest majority employed on Norwegian ships. Strategies are being planned for promoting gender diversity in collaboration with DG Shipping India and also with the industry and the Norwegian Ship Owners Association. A strategy he suggested is to sign a declaration on diversity with the industry.

Imad Al Khudhuri – Chief Commercial Officer, ASYAD Shipping Company, detailed on the operations of his company that operates three ports in Oman addition to ASYAD Shipping. They are also into operating free zones, economic zones and dry docks in Oman. The company was established in 2003 for exporting LNG from Oman. The group started with 6 ships and has grown to a fleet of 85 ships including both owned and chartered vessels.

A very interesting one-to-one discussion at the event was with Rica Roy – Consultant Sports Editor of NDTV & Lead Special Projects, Aspire for Her. Chris Hall, Managing Director & Lawyer, Shipowners Claims Bureau, hosted the discussion that reflected on the professional career of Rica Roy as a role model for diversity. In her 23 years of journalism career, Rica worked with NDTV for 18 years. For 7 years she was the sports editor and was the only female sports editor in the country. Currently there are 52 women sports journalists in India as compared to thousands of men in the field. Women can have a totally different perspective to storytelling, avers Rica. She is also part of an initiative that helps retired women sports professionals find jobs, which has been started in Odisha.

Rica says, being the first mover in her field she didn’t have any role models to look up at, but it is all about inspiring and being inspired.

Pia Meling, Managing Director, Grieg Green, detailed on her company’s business, being an expert in ship recycling since 2010. India, Bangladesh and Pakistan recycle most of the world’s retiring fleet and her company has taken up about 150 recycling projects at Alang so far. Grieg Green helps shipping lines find the best recycling yard with safety and environmental compliance. According to a study by BIMCO, about 15000 ships will reach their end-of-life in the coming years, which is double than what was a decade ago, thus we may fall short of recycling yards in the days to come, she shared. Grieg Green has prepared a “Sustainability Yard Score” that ranks recycling yards based on their safety and environmental standards, thus helping best complying yards to get more business.

The next discussion was on shipping best practices, Capt. Milind K Patankar – Head, Ship Owning Division, Transworld Group & MD, SSLL, detailed on the decarbonisation initiatives at Transworld Group. Sharing some statistics on maritime emissions he said, 16% of GHG emissions globally are from the transport sector and shipping accounts for just 3% of it. Transworld has been cautious of not only the pollution caused by marine fuels but also by the waste being let out by vessels at the sea. The IMO regulations have indeed given a push to the industry to embark on decarbonisation. At Transworld, the will to change has been from the top management and they started with data collection on emissions. Data was gathered on three platforms – emission from ships, emissions by stakeholders and emissions from power purchased for business. Transworld has a vision to become carbon neutral by 2043.

Decarbonisation is on the top of the mind said, Cailey Murphy – Head of Corporate Communications at Atlas Corp. and Seaspan Corporation. Seaspanis a largest independent container lineoperator and lessor.The company will be operating 200 ships with 2 million teus capacity by the end of next year.The company has a three pronged approach for decarbonisation:

• Continuous efficiency improvement
• Transition pathways
• Fleet insights

The company controls its fleet emissions by slow steaming and engine retrofitting. The Seaspan Action on Vessel Energy Reduction (SAVER) programme enables 25% reduction in emissions. Transition pathways is about switching to eco-friendly fuels.

Panama is a carbon –ve country, 82% of its energy needs are met from renewable resources, informed H.E. Yasiel Burillo – Ambassador and Consul General, Government of Panama. About 6% of the global trade passes through the Panama Canal and the authority actively participates with its customers in decarbonisation. The canal was built in 1014 and has been tailored to use recycled water during drought seasons, such as the current prevailing conditions. During water shortage period, recycled water is shared among the locks to enable safe passage of ships. The canal has a capacity to recycle 60% of its water. The Canal also has an emission calculator that enables ships to calculate the volume of emissions saved by them by using the canal.

Port of Antwerp has merged with Port of Zeebrugge, so it’s a single port with two locations now, shared Daljit Singh Kohli – India Representative Port of Antwerp-Bruges. The port not only helps shipping lines control their carbon footprint, but also measures its carbon footprint onshore.The port is using Hydrogen tugs to reduce emissions.Antwerp is the largest chemical cluster in Europe and the second largest in the world. Both ships at ports and chemical companies emit lots of carbon. Providing on-shore power helps ships reduce their emissions. By 2028, all ships visiting Antwerp will be provided with shore power. 130 wind turbines have been installed at the port and a methanol plant is being developed for providing clean power.

As the event proceeded a lot of intriguing discussions kept the participants captivated. The day-long event concluded with a gala awards night. Below is the list of award winners at the event.

Award Winners – Individuals

Award winning Companies

• Media Company of the Year – The Daily Cargo News
• Best Practices in Diversity – Seaspan Corporation
• Best Practices in Sustainability – Fleet Management Limited & South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT)
• Most Diverse Board – Allied ICD Services Ltd.