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And, for sure, maritime careers aren’t necessarily about being officer or crew member, either. This (picture) is Emily Lennox, whose career path underlines the point that women should consider related trades too. Emily’s a Graduate Naval Architect with Babcock International Group, working on what must be the most exciting shipbuilding project Britain has undertaken in recent years: constructing the two giant aircraft carriers Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales, building at Rosyth on the Firth of Forth. (Emily is on the flight deck of PoW.) It’s a challenge she seized with both hands – and a sense of humour: apparently some of her friends thought “naval architect” meant “navel architect” – that is, something to do with belly-button piercing. No, really… That just made Emily laugh. But then, I think it would take a lot to put her off her stride!

One key point all are keen to get across when it comes to women in seafaring is that a maritime career doesn’t have to be all about sea time. There are plenty of shore jobs too, opening up more options for women wanting, say, to start a family, or just needing that change. This something Fena Boyle (picture) at the Merchant Navy Training Board is keen to get across in her role as Training and Careers Co-Ordinator. Fena, a former deck officer, had to “swallow the anchor” (come ashore) for personal reasons – and she found her new start a real struggle. So, a relaunch of MNTB’s Careers at Sea website is coming soon, with a ‘career map’ outlining the many options. The aim: easy access to all information needed, to reveal the many jobs available to all seafarers after anchor-swallowing.

Women seafarers, they have a few. As Caitlyn Vaughan’s (picture) research at the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network has revealed, isolation is too often the lot of all seafarers nowadays – with long periods of sea time unrelieved by runs ashore, given rapid container ship turn-rounds and offshore discharging of cargoes like gas and oil. That’s compounded by the smaller numbers needed to run modern ships. And of course multinational crews may make socialising and communication more difficult. Well if it’s so for men, says Caitlyn, it can be all the more so for a woman, as so often the only female aboard. Greater numbers of female seafarers will solve that problem, it’s hoped. Which is why the Royal Navy’s energetic approach is deserving of praise – allowing as many sisters who want to, to do it for themselves!

One woman seafarer making the point Dr Pike wants made (see previous blog) and doing it big time, is Fran Collins, Executive Operations Director of Condor Ferries. She rose to Captain one of these elegant ships criss-crossing the Channel between the Channel Islands and St Malo, and then took up her present senior role in the company. She was clear about what all seafarers need: resourcefulness, the ability to cope with whatever situations arise at sea, because there’s no AA or Green Flag to call on! Meeting (picture) with officers on board Condor’s ‘Stabilized Mono-Hull’ ferry Condor Liberation, she was plainly at ease in command – and the officers talking with her were equally at ease being commanded. Good signs. And a good day at sea followed – we had a great return voyage to Guernsey in beautiful weather, perfect for shots.

‘Shescape’ isn’t just about the Royal Navy though – the Merchant Navy is in fact the film’s main theme, both here and abroad. We talked to Dr Kate Pike (picture), who runs Southampton Solent University’s GEM project – ‘Gender, Empowerment and Multicultural Crews’.  She stresses that getting more women into seafaring careers needs the support of shipping companies. One such coming right into bat is the giant Maersk, whose shops can be found wherever there’s water to float them. The aim of the GEM project is to examine seafarers’ welfare, with a special focus on gender issues arising from multi-cultural crews and isolation. The GEM team hope that their research and data findings will make it easier to support women in seafaring. There’s some way to go, with low numbers and issues of harassment and bullying to sort out too.

…are in the care of Lieutenant Emma Yearling RN, seen here at HM Naval Base Clyde, the navy’s submarine base near Glasgow. An ‘SSBN’ – a Trident nuclear deterrent submarine – is always at sea, no-one knows where, to make it plain to any would-be aggressor against our country that attacking us just isn’t worth it. A grim stand-off to be sure – but until all nuclear weapons have been abolished and scrapped (what any sane person must hope for) a necessary one – though of course not everyone buys that. Talking with MFUK for ‘Shescape’, it’s clear Emma does. She plainly relishes the challenge of her work, though it means months away at sea on submerged patrol.  Oh, and ‘SSBN’? It stands for ‘Submersible Ship Ballistic Nuclear’. You have to have a taste for alphabet soup in the RN…!