Hamburg

In 2022 the Koni Duniya and Dise Yudeowei from the Female Seafarers' Association of Nigeria came to Hamburg port for a three week residency. Together with members of secret agency they made contact with shipping companies based in Hamburg port. The main aim was to find jobs for the nigerian shefarers. This is a report by FESAN: 

Our 1st visit was to www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/company  in Hamburg. They own mostly container vessels, unfortunately, most of the vessels under their management are German flagged and can only be crewed by EU nationals. They referred us to another company( Hamburger Lloyd) that manages some of their vessels under different flags.

We were well received at  https://www.hamburger-lloyd.com/en/ They pride themselves in having diverse crew a few CV’s were sent we are waiting for response.

We also visited a Hamburg government office in charge of cruise ships operating in Hamburg Port. They promised to introduce FESAN to the cruise industry starring with AIDA Cruises. We will send a reminder for the introduction. 

We also visited https://www.go-turtle.com/ they run a site that connects seafarers with possible employers. They promised to have a zoom call with FESAN members to demonstrate the

registration process. While we were there they checked their aystem and there are quite a number of incomplete profiles The zoom call will help members complete their profile set up

so that it can go live and be seen by potential employers. 

We had an engagement with WISTA Germany members. They were impressed to hear about FESAN and we hope for referrals and opportunities from the engagement.

The most promising visit was to Columbia Ship Management. This is what they posted in their social media about the meeting: 

Recently our Diversity & Inclusion Director, Claudia Paschkewitz, along with other CSM-D colleagues, met with the Female Seafarers Association of Nigeria (FESAN) in our office in Hamburg. FESAN is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation of female seafarers in Nigeria founded in 2020. They advocate for women working at sea and for equality. Their mission is to have a collective voice of female seafarers in the maritime industry. Many ideas were exchanged regarding the challenges faced by female seafarers and how to address these through collaboration and cooperation. #diversity #inclusion #FESAN #icare #femaleseafarers #columbiashipmanagement #D&I  

At the end of our residency Secret Agency featured FESAN as part of the International Summerfestival at Kampnagel.

FESAN was welcomed in Hamburg as a great initiative and we were encouraged to keep up the good work.  The Drive for Diversity and Inclusion in the Maritime Industry Globally will create opportunities for females but we have to be prepared!