The solution of gender issue in global shipping industry
Autonomous and remote navigation technologies offer wide opportunities for intensive involvement of women into the world shipping industry. As IAA PortNews correspondent reports, this was stated by Heike Deggim, Director of IMO Maritime Safety Division, in replying to Olga Lazovskaya, Founding President of Russian Representative Office of Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA), within the framework of the Conference on a-Navigation.
“This is quite an attractive option for women. They could stay close to their families and children”, – agreed VitalyKlyuev, Acting Director of the Department of State Policy of Maritime and Inland Waterways Transport.
Female drivers
The same idea was shared by Alexander Pinskiy, the author and the leader of the a-Navigation project and the Head of MARINET Industry Association, believing that a-Navigation would provide better conditions for seafarers not only onboard but ashore, as well. “It is widely known that the female drivers are the most accurate and a-Navigation will open up new possibilities for many new categories of people who might have not been earlier involved in shipping activities due to health, age or gender. Moreover, it will compensate for professional understaffing being observed in shipping industry nowadays”, – he added.
“I think more women in shipping – more diversity in general. Competitiveness of industry is lowered in case we don’t get more women engaged and willing to work here. I’m sure it’s a key for the future to get all of the best into our industry. As Alexander said, women take less risks and we want to reduce risks in a-Navigation, so may be we’ll get an even bigger impact with women in a-Navigation. We can see added potential there, definitely”, – concluded Henrik Tunfors, Chair MASS Working Group of IMO’s Maritime Safety Division.
“Ships and shipping of the future”
By summarizing, VitalyKlyuev, Acting Director of the Department of State Policy of Maritime and Inland Waterways Transport, recalled the favourite book of 1973 he used to read in early childhood “Ships and shipping of the future”. “It is very possible in the nearest future that a working place of a ship master is located in a comfortable office ashore and his deputy is a ship computer fully operating her”, – he cited.
The online Conference on autonomous and remote navigation (a-Navigation) was organized on April 28, 2021, by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation with support of IMO and in partnership with the Industry Association MARINET and the a-Navigation Promotion Center “MARINET RUT”. The Conference gathered about 100 experts from various shipping and engineering companies, regulatory bodies and research centers worldwide.
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