International Journal

on Marine Navigation

and Safety of Sea Transportation

Volume 3

Number 4

December 2009

463

1 THE HISTORY OF JOINING WOMEN ON

BOARD SHIP AS STEWARDESS AND

OFFICER

One radio operator met a female radio operator

while being briefed on communications procedures

during a convoy conference in Port Said, Egypt in

1944. She was the only operator on board the Nor-

wegian flag tanker. As the operator stated that "We

were both headed for the Persian Gulf...we, with a

load of Russian bound materiel, and her, to load

oil." Women have bravely served the U.S. Navy for

nearly a century, but they have only been allowed in

positions aboard non-hospital ships for the last 25

years. In October 1978, in the wake of a court ruling

that overturned statutes that forbade women from

serving at sea, the Navy launched their Women in

Naval Ships program and announced that they would

assign 55 women officers and 375 female enlisted

personnel to 21 ships during the next year. Women

were finally allowed to serve as surface warfare of-

ficers and in numerous enlisted ratings (below the

rank of officer) on such auxiliary vessels as subma-

rine and destroyer tenders and oceanographic re-

search ships. In 1977, the first woman cadet in Irish

shipping Ltd. was Ms. Ann Parry. Irish Shipping

Ltd. (1941-84) had a number of women crew mem-

bers including the first women officer on an Irish

ship Marilyn Stockwell from Tuam, Co. Galway.

Marilyn sailed on the Irish Maple in 1973 as the jun-

ior radio officer. In 1974 the first women deckhand

on Irish Shipping Ltd. Miss Rosemary Dalton joined

the Irish Oak. During Fiscal Year 1979, 55 officers

and 375 enlisted women will be assigned to 21 US.

On November 1 1978, naval ships in both the Atlan-

tic and Pacific fleets, with the first officers reporting

aboard their respective ships. The first enlisted

women will report in December. Mrs. Linda Hayes

(Linda Purdy) of the Irish ferries vessel M.V. Ulys-

ses. She was in 1987, along with Ms. Rosemary Do-

cherty the first woman purser in the 150 year history

of the B+I Line. Also in 1987 the first women of-

ficer on a B+I ship Ms. Caroline Meaney, joined the

M.V.Tipperary. In 1987, women started to work at

sea as purser and stewardess which lead the man-

agement team on the Irish ferries and passenger

ships. Nowadays, there are more women on board

ships as Radio, Deck and even Engine officers in

shipping companies belong to European, American,

Australia and Far East countries. During the eight-

eenth century, the British Admiralty did not allow

women to be on board, but records show that cap-

tains often let the wives of officers join the ship and

share their husbands' cabins or hammocks and food

rations in the British navy. As a result of technologi-

cal improvement in shipping in the last couple of

years; the new ships are designed and equipped with

the computerized systems. The author has to draw

An Analysis of Marine Navigation and Safety of

Sea Transportation by Iranian Women as

Officer and Master Mariner

H. Yousefi

Chabahar Maritime University, Chabahar, Iran

ABSTRACT: The author attempts to describe the safety factors which should be considered for the sea trans-

portation through coastal waters and the International waterways. First segment of this paper is designated to

investigate the role of females as crew and officer on board ships. Based on STCW95 Convention and from

the professional point of view the author believes that the Iranian females can be able to take responsibility on

board ship as officer or even master mariner. Boys and girls can learn the required theories at the college

when they are Cadet and improve their skill on board ship; therefore, operation of the advanced equipment on

board ship can be done by both sides easily. A section of this paper is devoted to elucidate the various aspects

of Iranian culture for the sea jobs which are going to be carried out by Iranian women on board ships. Some

technical suggestions will be described in this paper in order to be taken into account the cultural factors by

the IMO representative and finally the Parliament of Islamic Republic of Iran. The existence of women espe-

cially Iranian women or the mixture of men and women officers on board Iranian ships in order to improve

the safety factors of sea transportation will be discussed in depth.

464

your attention to the safety factors which should be

considered for the sea transportation through coastal

waters and the International waterways in this arti-

cle. Although, US women were interested in joining

on board warships even during wartime, neverthe-

less the US government limited their contribution on

board naval ships. When passenger ships were taken

over by the government after the U.S. entered World

War II, many women who had served as stewardess-

es, hairdressers, etc. lost their jobs. They were re-

quired to leave after their ships returned to port after

December 7, 1941. One of these women, Betty Jack-

son, wrote to President Roosevelt: "We are not

afraid of the dangers and we are willing to put up

with any inconvenience as long as we can be rein-

stated and go back to sea." Admiral Land, head of

the U.S. Maritime Commission replied that there

were no provisions on wartime ships for women

crewmembers.

2 A SURVEY FROM THE ILO ABOUT WOMEN

AT SEA

In an October 3 press release, the U.N. International

Labour Organization (ILO) said a new study of

women at sea "paints a grim picture of the struggle

faced by women to gain employment and advance-

ment but says women represent a potential resource

for the industry." The study highlights a need for

policies that address issues related to sexual harass-

ment, menstruation, pregnancy, contraception, ma-

ternity, and sexual and general medical health, the

release said. While some ship owners, managers and

trainers of women are positive about their perfor-

mance, women often still face intolerance and har-

assment, the release added. Researchers examined

regional variations of women at sea such as the fact

that in some Scandinavian countries women make

up more than 10 percent of the seafaring workforce,

while their numbers in other European countries "are

negligible”. As the ILO said that Countries belong-

ing to the Organization for Economic Cooperation

and Development (OECD) provide the largest pro-

portion of women employed on cruise ships, 51.2

percent; followed by Eastern Europe, 23.6 percent;

the Far East, 13.7 percent; Latin America and Afri-

ca, 9.8 percent; and South Asia and the Middle East

1.7 percent. The labour agency stated that only 7

percent of women seafarers are officers compared to

42 percent of their male counterparts. However, it

said, women students at the World Maritime Univer-

sity (WMU) have risen to 21 percent of the universi-

ty's population compared to 8 percent in 1995.

On a more positive note, the study reveals signifi-

cant progress in training policies over recent years.

By 2001 the total number of female students at the

World Maritime University (WMU) had risen to 21

percent of the total university population in compari-

son to 8 percent in 1995. The ILO study is based on

a survey commissioned by the ILO following the

resolution concerning women seafarers adopted by

the 29th Session of the ILO/IMO Joint Maritime

Commission, 22-26 January 2001, in Geneva. The

Resolution called for a more active role to be taken

in promoting the integration of women in the indus-

try. As a follow-up to the Resolution, the study iden-

tifies good practice and recommends measures that

may further help the integration of women into ship-

board communities.

Outside Europe figures also vary: women make

up 1.1 percent Brazil's seafarers, and 5 percent of

Indonesia's. According to Fairplay in 1998, India re-

ported only three women out of 43,000 registered

seafarers; by the end of 2002 there were twelve. In

the Philippines, the largest supplier of seafarers to

the world merchant fleet, only 225 women out of

230,000 seafarers appear on the international seafar-

ers' register for 1983-90. The bulk of women seafar-

ers are concentrated in the hotel personnel of cruise

ships, and these are mostly in rating grades. Only 7

percent of women seafarers are officers and the rest

(93 percent) are ratings. By comparison, 42 percent

of male seafarers are officers and 58 percent are rat-

ings. And there are further anomalies in seafarers'

employment. Currently, OECD countries recruit the

largest proportion of women employed on cruise

ships (51.2 percent), followed by Eastern Europe

(23.6 percent), the Far East (13.7 percent), Latin

America and Africa (9.8 percent) and South Asia

and the Middle East (1.7 percent). On the other

hand, most male seafarers are recruited from the Far

East (29.1 percent), followed by 23.3 percent from

OECD countries, 17.8 percent from Latin America

and Africa, 12.3 percent from Eastern Europe, 7.5

percent from South Asia and the Middle East.

3 IRANIAN WOMEN AS OFFICER AND

MASTER MARINER ON BOARD SHIP

This segment of the paper is designated to investi-

gate the role of Iranian females as officer and master

mariner on board ships. Of course, the Iranian wom-

en can work on board coastal water craft as an of-

ficer or Captain at the Persian Gulf or even further

routes. It is difficult to offer sea jobs to the Iranian

women; it is because of the Iranian culture! Never-

theless, from the religious point of view, man and

woman have equal right to live; therefore the only

problem is the long voyages at sea for the Iranian

females. It means that Iranian females can be able to

take responsibility on board High Speed Craft or

passenger ships as officer or master mariner in short

voyages at the Persian Gulf. The other alternative to

solve this problem is that the Iranian women can join

465

on board ocean going vessels as officers accompany

with their husband in peace of mind. As result of

that they can stay on board ship more than usual pe-

riod and their efficiency for doing the job will be

improved greatly. It should be noted that Iranian fe-

males can be officer and finally master mariner on

board coastal and ocean going vessels, because the

situation on merchant ships has been changed and

great number of Iranian women are interested in

travelling by passenger ships; therefore, it is neces-

sary to have women officers on board Iranian ships

in order to look after the female passengers especial-

ly in emergency situation. Nowadays, as a result of

the technological improvement in shipping and in-

creasing the price of airplane ticket, etc; use of fer-

ries, high speed craft and passenger ships became

more common for short voyages at the Persian Gulf.

It should be noted that Iranian passengers are inter-

ested in using ships for pilgrim journeys in order to

go to Saudi Arabia and Syria. Iranian shipping com-

panies allow the wives of officers join the merchant

ships and share their husbands’ cabins, food, etc;

although the life at sea is awful, nevertheless majori-

ty of Iranian women are interested in joining the

ocean going ships as officer in order to be with their

husband. One of the problems of joining the Iranian

females on board ships can be related to their uni-

form which should be Islamic dressing with a cap

and scarf or even a useful cap similar to the Iranian

Airline uniform.

4 CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN AS

STEWARDESS ON BOARD WARSHIPS

Why would a woman leave home to travel by a ship

of war? Of course, many had no home or money

while their husbands were at sea. The ship provided

a home and a chance to share life, however harsh,

with their husbands. The wives worked on the ship,

mending or cleaning clothes or serving as captains'

maids. In battle, they attended the wounded or car-

ried gunpowder; a few were wounded themselves.

Childbirth at sea was not uncommon, and sometimes

a ship's guns were fired to speed up a difficult

birth—a practice that gave rise to the saying, "a son

of a gun."

Women played only a small role in the Canadian

merchant navy, there were some pioneers working

as stewardesses, and a few Canadian women were

radio officers on ships of the Norwegian merchant

navy (the only Allied merchant fleet at that time that

permitted women to serve aboard ships as wireless

operators). Hannah Baird was the first Canadian

female who casualty of the Second World War. Just

hours after Britain declared war on Germany on

September 3, 1939, the passenger liner Baird was

working aboard was torpedoed by a German subma-

rine. You won't find Stewardess Hannah Baird's

name in the history books, or the names of the other

seven Canadian women who died while serving in

merchant ships during both World Wars. Maude

Elizabeth Steane, a ship's radio operator during

World War II, had to leave Canada to find a ship be-

cause women were not allowed to join any ship in

Canada. Just ten weeks after leaving home, Maude

Steane was killed. It is often reported that she died

by enemy gunfire while her ship was docked in Na-

ples, Italy.

Clara Gordon Main, a stewardess on the SS Pres-

ident Harrison was among the first American Pris-

oners of War. The ship was captured by the Japanese

on December 7, 1941, while rescuing U.S. Marines

from China. The vessel was first bombed and then

captured by the Japanese who ordered all hands to

abandon ship. In so doing the Chief Steward suf-

fered several broken ribs. Mrs. Main, the only wom-

an member of the large crew, conducted herself in

such a cool and collected manner that she had a de-

cidedly steadying influence on the seamen. She also

had the foresight to take with her, as she left the ship

in the last boat, certain medicinal restoratives and

first aid material, which proved invaluable. During

six weeks subsequent treatment, she nursed the

Chief Steward so effectively that she undoubtedly

saved his life.

5 CONTRIBUTION OF IRANIAN WOMEN IN

SPORTS AND DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES

In the last couple of decades, the Iranian women

contributed in different field of sports that could get

medal and good score at the international games.

Climbing a mountain is a good, safe and interesting

sport for Iranian females, especially for those who

are living near mountainous areas. Iranian female

football team with Islamic dressing plays well; the

team could get the highest grade in Asia ranking

teams. Boatwomen is an exciting group sport which

is quite interesting by Iranian females; it is because

of their convenient for dressing and team work ac-

tivities.

Iranian women working as police officers at the

main cities of Iran, those who like such activity

should be brave and energetic in order to show their

capabilities which are more or less similar to the po-

lice men. In fact, contribution of Iranian females as

fire fighter teams proves that they are brave to per-

form such hard and dangerous activities. It should be

noted that the job of fire fighter in comparison to the

seafarers’ career is more hazardous, because they

should be as quick as possible.

The magnificent activity of Iranian female has

been done by Mrs. Anoush Ansari. She was the first

466

private space explorer women who travelled around

the earth up to the International Space Station. She

also earned a place in history as the fourth private

explorer September 18, 2006; Anousheh Ansari cap-

tured headlines to visit space as the first Iranian as-

tronaut. On 5

January 2008, Guardian Newspaper

announced the list of 50 persons who could save the

earth from the environmental hazardous; as result of

that name of Mrs. Dr. Masomeh Ebtekar, Iranian en-

vironmental minister, as Survivor of the earth envi-

ronment was in the list.

6 SAFETY OF NAVIGATION BY JOINING

IRANINAN WOMEN ON BOARD SHIPS

Iranian women seafarers can join on board the ships

according to their speciality; it seems that the ship-

ping company can employ them as officer for cater-

ing, radio and deck department of a ship. Ship voy-

age at the Persian Gulf is short; therefore the female

officers may take only one sea watch during the

voyage. By referring to the previous experiences of

so many shipping companies in all over the world, 3

out of 54 percentages of women were deck officers.

It means that as first experience, it is better that the

Iranian female join on board the ship as stewardess-

es, cooks, assistant doctor, chief stewards, radio of-

ficer, etc. after that as deck officer in order to be-

come a ship Captain. So, this process should be

started in short voyages at the Persian Gulf.

The following pie chart has been acquired

through a survey from Iranian women who work at

marine organizations in Chabahar port and some of

the students from Chabahar Maritime University.

Although those who contributed to answer the ques-

tioner of this survey, knew that work at sea is hard,

nevertheless half of them selected “Good” point and

the minority of them selected “Bad” point. This sur-

vey shows that majority of the Iranian student girls

from the University like to be at sea and are keen to

join on board the ship as officer.

Fig.1. Sea life survey from Iranian women

A student girl in oceanography should travel by

research ship at the Persian Gulf for about a couple

of days in order to do the specific research about

aquatic, sea animals, wave height, etc. Therefore, re-

ferring to the Iranian culture it is more safe and con-

venient for the girl to travel and to collect data by

the female crew on board the ship. Ship manoeu-

vring and the safety of navigation at the Persian Gulf

are not depend on the sex (female or male) of the

seafarers; it is related to a qualify officer who should

comply with the IMO regulations. Since the required

training based on STCW95 Convention and the writ-

ten and oral examination of the Certificate of Com-

petency have been passed out by the candidate (boy

or girl); after that he/she will be qualify to run a

ship. All watch keepers shall be qualified and hold

certification prescribed for navigational watch to the

standards prescribed in A-II/4 of STCW 95 accord-

ing to the duties they are required to perform. As

consequence of the above explanation, the main is-

sue is the knowledge and skill of the seafarer to sup-

port the safety of life at sea; so, bridge safety equip-

ment can be operated either by man or woman

officer and both are safe and sound.

7 CONCLUSION

Iranian peoples are interested in travelling by ship

for leisure and pilgrim journeys, because they are

quite cheap, comfortable and safe for short journey

at the Persian Gulf and even long voyage up to Sau-

di Arabia and Syria. By increasing number of pas-

senger ships in Iran and the establishment of passen-

ger terminals in South and North ports of Iran,

therefore the existence of Iranian women crew on

board ship in order to look after the female passen-

gers is necessary and essential. Referring to the

STCW95, the important factors for improving the

safety of sea transportation are skill and qualification

of the seafarers and are not related to the sex of the

ship officers.

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How is life at sea?

Perfect

Good

Normal

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