Author: JAMES KAMALA
AfricaPress-Tanzania: MARITIME stakeholders have raised concern over the small number of women seafarers, calling for concerted efforts to motivate more women pursue studies that will befit with opportunities available in the sector.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam recently during the commemoration of Annual seafarers’ day, Managing Director of the Tanzania Shipping Agency Corporation (TASAC), Mr Emmanuel Ndomba, said women constitute only one percent of seafarers in the country.
“Tanzania has 5,300 registered seafarers, of whom, only 50 are women. This makes them lag behind in utilising opportunities in this sector, which the government is promoting to invest in by training more people and purchasing marine vessels for eased sea transportation,” Ndomba Said.
He added that TASAC, was firm in supervising quality long and short term trainings to ensure that seafarers produced are of world class, which benefits more men who are working in local and international firms, while women lugs behind.
Explaining on factors leading to fewer women in this sector which transports over 90 percent of global cargo, Ms Fortunate Kwaya, the chairperson of Women Seafarers of Association (WOMESA), said that it was nothing else than lack of self confidence among women compared to men.
“Some women do fear from joining seafarers training for lack of confidence. Others start but quit before finishing the trainings,” she explained and added that girls must wake up, prepare themselves to grab opportunities arising in the sector.
She cited some of the opportunities including massive investment made by the government in revamping and purchasing ships in Lake Victoria, Nyasa and Tanganyika and those on the Indian Ocean.
