Hariet Ngoka, Deck cadet – Kenya

As a Deck cadet , my daily responsibilities entails navigation under guidance and supervision of chief officer, tank sounding, ship general cleaning and maintenance to maintain structural integrity of the deck, maintenance of LSA/FFA checking on expiry dates,defects and repair work. During berthing and unberthing operations, it’s ‘all hands on deck to get the vessel to berth so I get stationed for mooring. Assisting 2nd officer with paperwork, keeping them stamped, signed and ready with a fair number of copies and I keep watch to monitor cargo being loaded and discharged noting down precise timings of each and gangway watch.

What I love about my job is that I get to learn new things everyday and that I have the opportunity to travel the world. However, this profession does come with certain gender based challenges. You tend to be doubted a lot and your capabilities questioned. I have had stevedores doubt my abilities and skill and they thought I wouldn’t make it at sea but I proved them wrong.

I would love to see more opportunities to be offered to women in the industry regardless of where they are coming from.

My advice to other female seafarers is: Patience and focus matters. Everything works out when you put more effort, so keep on pushing.

Hariet Ngoka, Deck cadet – Kenya