The week began on Monday, 18 May, with a video featuring three ETSNM students who currently represent different areas of maritime education: Engineering, ETO and Bridge.

The participants were Maytana Díaz, student of the Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Engineering; Lucía Díaz, student of the Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Engineering training in the field of Electro-Technical Officer / ETO; and María Núñez, student of the Bachelor’s Degree in Nautical Science and Maritime Transport.

Through their contributions, the students conveyed a simple and direct message: the maritime sector offers opportunities for training, professional growth and participation in an activity that is essential to society. They also stressed the importance of recognising those who paved the way before them, those who are on board today, those who are currently training and the future generations of women who will join the maritime sector.

With this first video, the School sought to place at the centre of the commemoration the female students who are currently training to work at sea and who represent the future of the merchant marine.

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The second day of the week was dedicated to Anna Ivanovna Shchetinina (1908-1999), one of the great pioneers of the world merchant marine.

Her importance lies not only in the fact that she was a woman in command of a ship, but also in having achieved professional command of an ocean-going vessel at a time when the presence of women in positions of responsibility on board was exceptional.

In 1935, she became the first professional female captain of an ocean-going vessel. The International Hydrographic Organization highlights that Shchetinina first went to sea as a sailor and rose to the rank of captain, becoming a figure of international significance.

During the Second World War, she worked on transoceanic routes, took part in transport operations and evacuated civilians under particularly difficult conditions. Later, she was also involved in maritime education, helping to train new generations of seafaring professionals.

Her career represents essential values of the maritime profession: training, experience, discipline, responsibility and command capability. The ETSNM wished to recall her figure as a symbol of the women who paved the way on the bridge and demonstrated that professional competence in the merchant marine has no gender.

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The third day was dedicated to Victoria Drummond (1894-1978), one of the great pioneers of the Engineering department in the merchant marine.

Her career is especially significant because she paved the way in the field of applied engineering, and she did so from the engine room, one of the areas of greatest technical specialisation on board. From a very young age, she showed a clear vocation for machinery and technical work, beginning her training in workshops and shipyards before going to sea as an engineering officer.

Victoria Drummond was the first woman to become a member of the Institute of Marine Engineers, the predecessor institution of today’s IMarEST, and in 1926 she obtained the Second Engineer certificate, becoming the first British woman certified as a marine engineer in the merchant marine.

However, her training did not remove the barriers she faced. For years, she had great difficulty accessing positions in line with her qualifications and faced numerous professional obstacles because she was a woman. IMarEST notes that she repeatedly sat the Board of Trade examination to be recognised as a chief engineer and was failed on numerous occasions, allegedly on the grounds of gender.

During the Second World War, she returned to sea. On board the Bonita, during an air attack, she was left in charge of the Engineering department and kept the ship operating under extreme conditions. For her actions, she was recognised as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and received the Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea.

After the war, she continued working on various ships and eventually served as chief engineer until her retirement in 1962. Her story reminds us that technical training, maritime vocation and professional responsibility have no gender in the merchant marine.

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The fourth day was dedicated to Radhika Menon, merchant marine captain and an international reference in the field of maritime safety and leadership on board.

Her relevance is not limited to being recognised as the first female captain in the Indian Merchant Navy. Her career achieved international recognition in 2016, when she became the first woman to receive the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea, the International Maritime Organization’s award for exceptional bravery at sea.

The recognition was granted for the rescue of seven fishermen in the Bay of Bengal, when she was captain of the product tanker Sampurna Swarajya. The fishing boat Durgamma had been left adrift after suffering an engine failure and losing its anchor, in the middle of a severe storm, with no food or water on board.

The operation took place in extremely difficult conditions, with waves of more than 25 feet, winds exceeding 60 knots and heavy rain. After several attempts, the crew of the Sampurna Swarajya, under the command of Radhika Menon, managed to rescue the seven fishermen alive.

Her story represents one of the deepest responsibilities of command at sea: making decisions under pressure, assessing risk, coordinating the crew and protecting human life in adverse conditions. The ETSNM wished to recognise her example as a symbol of leadership, maritime safety and commitment to human life at sea.

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The week closed with a video by Idoia Ibáñez Ozores, Captain in the Merchant Navy and a key reference in Spanish maritime history.

Idoia was part of the second cohort of women who, in 1980, were able to study Nautical Science in Spain. In her message, she recalled that some extraordinary women from the previous cohort obtained their qualifications before she did, but were not given the opportunity to command a ship.

In 1994, Idoia Ibáñez Ozores became the first woman to command Spanish-flagged merchant vessels, opening an essential path for later generations of women at sea.

Her career brings together experience, responsibility and maritime vocation: 17 years at sea and 22 years dedicated to Vetting inspections of ships. In her contribution, she stressed that maritime education provides excellent preparation not only for going to sea, but also for many shore-based positions, where seafarers bring highly valued technical and operational knowledge.

In her message to female students, future professionals and all women starting out in the maritime sector today, Idoia underlined that the effort is worthwhile and that women have their own place in this profession.

The ETSNM deeply appreciates her generosity and her participation in this commemorative week, as well as her role as a reference for those who today study, go to sea, work and lead in the maritime sector.

As she herself said at the end of her contribution:

“PROPELLER CLEAR, FULL AHEAD!”

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