History was written on 6th March 2021 when Shipping Corporation of India’s (SCI) MT SWARNA KRISHNA got flagged from India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai, having only women officers onboard the ship.
Celebrating International Women’s Day as well as SCI’s silver jubilee, Mansukh Mandaviya, minister of state for ports, shipping, and waterways flagged off 73,655 dwt SWARNA KRISHNA.
The move comes as the need of the hour as the gender imbalance in the shipping industry continues to grow. The International Chamber of Shipping had issued a 50-page report containing urgent recommendations for the industry to address its extraordinary diversity issues.
International Transport Workers Federation bargain agreements state that the total number of seafarers available for service on ships stands at 1,647,500. Out of this, women seafarers constitute only 1%, highlighting the gravity of the situation.
The cruise industry relatively stands at a better position than other segments of the industry when it comes to gender imbalance. When we include cruise shipping in the above report, the global share of women seafarers jumps to 7.5%.
The MT SWARNA KRISHNA flagging off marks the first time in history that a ship is completely being managed by women seafarers, including the engine room.
During the occasion of women’s day 2020, The CELEBRITY EDGE cruise ship became the first ship in maritime history to feature an entirely female bridge and hotel officer. However, it didn’t have a fully female crew.
SCI has been a forerunner in employing women seafarers on board its vessels, implementing various endeavors to aspiring female cadets at its maritime training institute.
However, the Indian government has decided to privatize SCI, with some of the bids coming from Exmar, GMS, and Foresight.
A Foresight maps their plans: “We want to transition SCI from a conventional shipping company to specifically energy tonnage. India energy demand is expected to grow double-digit.”