Ladies on the captain’s bridge

Captain Kate McCue Captain Seren Melani

Captain Nicole Langosch Captain Therese Boman Captain Danuta Kobylińska-Walas

By Marek Grzybowski

Women’s Day has passed and again it became quiet about the growing role of women in the maritime economy. Therese Boman has taken the next step in her career, the Swedish shipping company Furetank Rederi AB announced in March this year. The first captain took command of the tanker Fure Vinga at Furetank. It is a chemical tanker (18 thousand dwt, over 12.7 thousand GT) with a length of 150 m and a width of 23 m. “I always knew I wanted to be a captain. Since I started working at Furetank, the management has trusted me to take on more responsibility step by step – said the new captain in a statement to the media.

Let us remind you that Polish maritime universities opened their doors to women only in 1975. But Danuta Kobylińska-Walas paved the way for women to board ships. She is the first female Master Mariner in Poland. Films, TV and radio programs, many articles and a book have been made about her. In the ports where she arrived, she was called Captain in Skirt, Madame Commandante, Woman Sea Captain, and Madame la Capitaine, Frau Kapitän.

Ladies on cruises
The well-known operator AIDA Cruises employs Nicole Langosch as captain, who was appointed captain of AIDAsol a few years ago. “I’m proud to work for a company that provides targeted support to young women in their careers, enabling me to do my dream job,” Langosch said, taking over as “first after God.”

The passenger ship operator Regent Seven Seas appointed Serena Melani a few years ago as Master Mariner on Seven Seas. “Of course, I’m very proud,” Melani told USA Today, noting that breaking into the still male-dominated world of shipping wasn’t easy, said Captain Melani, announcing that she had waited five years to become a captain.

In 2015, Kate McCue made history when she became the captain of Celebrity Edge. Captain McCue was the first captain to leave a US port on a passenger ship after a stoppage caused by the pandemic. McCue is still America’s only female megaship captain. At the Maritime Academy of the University of California, she graduated from business studies while studying navigation.

Ladies in the maritime business are becoming more and more visible. Ladies are great at water sports, but on ships they still have to break through the glass ceiling. Therefore, it is worth writing about those who stood firm on the deck of the captain’s bridge not only on holidays.