Maersk launches India's first women seafarers' cadet programme

Danish carrier A.P.Moller–Maersk (Maersk) announced the launch of India's first seafarers' cadet programme dedicated to women on the occasion of the first International Day for Women in Maritime

"Young women who wish to choose a career in seafaring can enrol for the programme facilitated by Academy of Maritime Education and Training (AMET), Chennai, after completing their high school (10+2), and choose between the three-year Bachelors in Nautical Science or the four-year Bachelors in Engineering degree courses," according to an official statement from Maersk.

By promoting women to take up these courses and ensuring that they get access to the right academics in the right environment, Maersk is truly committing itself to improve Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) in the long run, the statement added.

"Women are reshaping the corporate world, taking on responsibilities in almost every sector, function and role," says Karan Kochhar, Head of Marine HR - Asia, Maersk. "However, the seafaring community, which has otherwise been male-dominated, has not progressed at the same pace as the mainstream corporates. This must change, and to bring about that change, it is necessary to start at grass root level."

Women account for only 0.5 percent of Indian seafarers today, Kochhar added. "This gender imbalance can be improved if the whole industry makes efforts to provide proper career counselling to young women and their parents at the right age, facilitate the right academics, create job opportunities, ensure a safe and healthy work environment at sea, and ensure fair employment in the long-term to the women."

Maersk aims to increase the proportion of women among the fresh cadets inducted to 50 percent by 2027 from a baseline of 7.6 percent in 2021.