MSAF to award women

THE Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF) is working on encouraging more women to join the shipping industry, says its acting chief executive officer Captain Philip Hill.

Capt. Hill said this year’s World Maritime Day celebration would see 18 awards being presented to women who are part of the industry. He said it also included those who had served previously.

Capt. Hill said MSAF had awarded certificates of competency to 94 women.

He said it was paramount for the authority to involve more females.

“We have discussions with shipping industries on how they can facilitate females, especially some of our domestic ships, they are not segregated for females working on board so there are things that we would like to put in place to support females on board,” he said.

“We are looking at encouraging more females into the industry.”

The theme for this year’s World Maritime Day celebration is “Empowering Women in the Maritime Community” and it will hel on September 27 at the Ratu Sukuna Park in Suva.