Female mariners share their experiences ahead of women's day
Tang Feifei deals with paperwork in the office.
Ahead of International Women's Day, Tang Feifei and Gong Huijia share their experiences of being a woman in the predominantly male maritime industry.
Tang, a port state control officer with the Tianjin New Port Maritime Safety Administration, expressed her passion for her profession.
With a postgraduate qualification in transportation planning and management from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tang enrolled in the Tianjin New Port Maritime Safety Administration after passing a civil service exam in 2009.
Initially, she was confined to the office dealing with paperwork, but her ambition to be aboard ships never declined.
"When people reach middle age, they may recall some obsession, that is, when the family does not have such burdens, because at the beginning, you may need to consider the right house, car, and children.
"Then, if you have a house, a car, and your child is also older, even if they still go to school, you become stable, and you will have some experience with life.
"At that time, I still wanted to realize my dream. Although it felt a bit late to achieve it at this age, I don't think it's too late at all, is it? Tang said.
"I just applied to the leader, and said I want to board the ship for inspection as I have a specialized A certificate for the issue.
"Normally, when we board a ship for inspection, you usually have about two to four people on board.
"Basically, we perform separate actions. If someone checks the bridge, someone checks the certificate, and then goes to the deck and the engine, then this inspection is different from the customs inspection.
"My country is my greatest support, because when your country is strong and powerful, you will be very confident.
Tang Feifei boards a foreign ship to make an inspection.
"When my team and I board a foreign ship, sailors usually have a special sense of reverence toward China, thinking that we are a great country, and they also respect you. Even though the most important reason these people respect you is actually because of your country, I feel proud of this," she said.
Tang headed a team of three women officers. "That's because serving female crew members are a big part of it. Because it was 2021, when IMO established an International Day for Women in Maritime on May 18 every year, they call it Women's Day. I think 'Awakening Day' would be more appropriate.
"This is actually an issue that promotes the rise of women in the maritime industry, right? And now, there are actually more and more female students in maritime colleges and universities.
"Yes, right now, and nationwide, the number of registered female crew members has exceeded 250,000. I think actually, if girls in maritime colleges and universities are engaged in navigation, they still have an advantage because after all, you have learned this knowledge like in four years of university. And actually, I think you know that sailing is a beautiful thing, although it's a bit tough.
"In fact, we have our own advantages, we are more careful, and we take things more seriously. So maybe until now, the entire shipping industry was mostly dominated by men on board.
"However, as we girls gradually engage in the industry, I think more women will follow in the future. So, when we first start working in the shipping industry, we should learn more and not be afraid of hardship or fatigue.
"Let's accumulate a few years of experience, you may find that life has opened up a wider path for you. Do you think that besides the beautiful scenery and sunset of navigation itself, what else do you think is brought by a profession? It cannot be said that it brings benefits, but rather advantages."
In Tang's view, women's participation can create a warmer and more powerful team. "Therefore, the maritime industry needs more excellent women to join," she said.
Gong Huijia in her third mate's uniform when she was on China's first icebreaker, the Xue Long (Snow Dragon).
Meanwhile, Gong Huijia, a lecturer at the Merchant Marine College, Shanghai Maritime University, is first mate aboard an ocean-going ship. Gong spent 10 months at sea last year. After the termination of her contract with Maersk, she joined OOCL along its Oceania route.
"We had been self repairing in the anchorage for two months since Oceania has the strictest safety supervision and inspections in the world, in particular when our ship is quite old and not always with very good maintenance.
"At that time, the temperature was probably as high as 40 degrees Celsius, and it would reach over 40 degrees Celsius every day. We anchored on the high seas outside of Malacca so were facing a situation where fresh water was not abundant. We used 1.5 tons of welding rods alone.
"The pre-inspection official said that our ship would take at least six months to be repaired, but it took us two months and in the end, it passed inspection smoothly in Auckland (New Zealand). It's really impressive.
"Ah, and then I felt that this was our unity, and that was the speed of the Chinese people. At that moment, when we passed the inspection, there was a burst of joy and tears in everyone's hearts and eyes.
"Sometimes I am in class with my students, and sometimes I chat with them after class. I also say that sailing is like a poem and distance amidst wind and rain.
"Because after all, many of the things cannot be overly beautified, so you must tell them what the reality is really like. Perhaps it's just that you run on a bulk carrier, and even if you feel comfortable soaking here for a month, there's nothing wrong with it.
"But sometimes like me, because I run containers, the turnover of containers is fast. Sometimes I only slept for less than 10 hours in three days. Just this kind of intensity, right? But we also have poetry and distant places, sometimes you can go down to the world as it is so big and I want to see. You can also tell them that they have this sentiment, because I've been around the world.
"In 2013 and 2014, I also sailed to the North and South Poles, and I have been to almost all seven continents and five oceans in the world. Then I realized that there were not many female crew members from the mainland, especially now that I am the first mate. They were very surprised, saying, 'This is my first time seeing a Chinese female first mate in decades.'
"At present, there are several female crew members I know of, including third mates and second mates, and there are also female crew members on board Xiang Yang Hong ships.
"Objectively speaking, I think there is no other profession like us sailors, who are away from family matters when at sea.
"Yes, you can't even go home on the vast sea. If you don't have a signal, you won't be able to make contact with the road at all. I've encountered many crew members, but they have family matters and you can't go home, which is a kind of helplessness.
"Once I told my child, 'Mom has been persisting for a dream for 20 years. How about persisting with mom together?"
