Last Friday 1st of March, WISTA UAE, hosted jointly with The Mission to Seafarers an event on the very important subject of “Wellbeing for Female Seafarers” at the fantastic DP World Expo Pavilion with the support of Stephenson Harwood LLP.
The event featured two panels lead by the brilliant moderators Ben Bailey and Katie Lea with distinguished speakers participating from international ship management and energy logistics companies: from Bahri | البحري Mr. Khalid Alhammad, President Shipmanagement, from Tristar Group Mr. Tim Coffin, CEO Maritime Logistics, and seafarer mental health experts Pam Kern, MS, LMSW (Kern and Co, LLC Consulting), Marinos Kokkinis, Stella Kiss and the highly enthusiastic and inspiring female cadets Taif Alrayssi, Fatima Al Zaabi Josely Mabiala with the kindest support from Karen Davis.
Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal of the British Royal Family and President of the Mission to Seafarers UK (pictured above) since 1984, graced us with her presence at the event and delivered a speech to delegates, where she highlighted the contribution that women can make in tackling the global crew shortage and the importance of ensuring that women in shipping are listened to and supported. The Princess also met with the WISTA UAE Board and the event panellists.
Rania Tadros, President of WISTA UAE and Office Managing Partner at Stephenson Harwood LLP, Dubai office, said: “It was truly an honour for WISTA UAE to join forces with the Mission to Seafarers and DP World, supported by Stephenson Harwood, for this significant event to discuss the invaluable contributions of female seafarers to global trade. Prioritising their welfare, we are dedicated to ensuring their well-being and fostering greater female participation in the maritime sector. This event also marked a significant milestone as WISTA UAE signed Memorandums of Understanding with both the Mission to Seafarers and the Nautical Institute to further support individuals throughout the maritime industry.”
Moreover, we are delighted to announce that during this event, an MOU was signed between WISTA UAE with The Nautical Institute represented by its UAE Branch Secretary, Captain Zarir Irani and a second MOU was signed with The Mission to Seafarers represented by its Programme Director, Mr Ben Bailey who commented: “This important conference highlighted the needs of female seafarers, and the challenge was given to ensure they receive the tailored crew welfare services they need and deserve. Since 1856, The Mission to Seafarers has been committed to serving all who work at sea irrespective of gender. However, at a time when industry is facing a potential crew shortage, it is incumbent on all of us to do all it can to encourage more women to join this diverse and energetic maritime sector. The opportunity to discuss these topics in the presence of our President and with so many of our supporters, made for a very special occasion. We sincerely thank our event partners at WISTA UAE, DP World and Stephenson Harwood for their commitment to this cause.”
WISTA UAE looks forward to collaborating closely with the two organizations to create synergies and meaningful discussions around the topics that we care the most in our industry.
On behalf of the WISTA UAE Board, we would like to thank sincerely our WISTA Members who participated on this historical day for our group.
