PNG Ports Corporation Limited (PNG Ports) has recruited its first female marine pilot, Ruth Philp as a part of the PNG Ports Maritime Cadetship Program’s first intake in 2010. She said it took her about 10 years at sea, much grit, and a very supportive partner to help her succeed in completing this program and to clock in the required sea-time and eventually be employed full time by PNG Ports. During her 10 years of training, she gave birth to her first child (boy) in 2016 and her second child (Girl) in 2020 which kept her away from the seas for months but with the help of her supportive partner and mother to help raised the kids, she managed to complete her training. “It was not smooth sailing as a female pursuing a career as a seafarer,” said Ruth “It is largely a male dominated industry with very few female Papua New Guineans.” “To be a Marine Captain, it’s not all about what you know and what you have learnt but it is about gaining respect from your crew and that takes time with a lot challenges.” “You have to be accepted first before you can be respected, and that takes time and challenges,” she said. “But lucky for me, I started my sea-time on a Steamships vessel which had two other females on board as well, so we worked together, with our male counterparts.” Then she revealed one of the many challenges she faced when she started working out on the sea and how she overcame it. “One of the main challenges I faced was after I got my Certificate of Competency. I had to work with men who had been out at sea much longer than myself, but I overcame that by proving that I knew my job and was out to get it done.” Her sentiments are not isolated to PNG as women around the world also overcome ‘undesirable discrimination’, which often leads these women to abandon their maritime career for one on land. Ships and their facilities were traditionally built for male crew, and with the recent rise of females entering the profession, adjustments had to be made to cater for females on board. “In terms of sacrifices, I took in total a year off to have each of my children. I left the sea for my son when he was just six weeks old, and then for my daughter at two months.” Ruth said. But that didn’t stop Ruth from achieving her dream to one day become a Marine Captain. “It was a tough journey, and wasn’t easy at all, but if you have a dream, you got to put your mind to it and reach for your goals.” she said. With Ms. Philip success, she is now paying tribute to past female seafarers who dared to test unchartered waters by paving way for others like her to succeed. She also commended fellow male seafarers for their support, guidance and acceptance. Her success on sea came from 10 years doing sea time with various shipping agents like P&O, Svitzer PNG Ltd, Steamships, Morobe Coastal Shipping, V Ships and U Sky Ltd. And her last role was as a Trainee Marine Pilot with Consort Express Lines, before joining the PNG Ports Pilotage team in Port Moresby. CEO of PNG Ports, Neil Papenfus, welcomed Philip into PNG Ports, saying her success was a win for all women in maritime and a testament of PNG Ports’ on-going effort and commitment toward a direction that can calibrate individual ambitions in alignment with business goals.