Women fill 35% of mission critical jobs, within the country’s Port system ranging, from harbour masters, deputy harbour masters, to chief marine engineers and marine engineers, marine pilots, dredge masters, coxswains, tug masters, aviation technician and helicopter pilots.

Tau Morwe Chief Executive, Transnet National Ports Authority( TNPA) says, “Training people for our marine division among others, is an integral part of the TNPA’s human capital pipeline. Moreover, we are developing women with mission critical skills that are in demand and internationally marketable.”

At the helm of Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA’s) 4200 cubic metre dredger Isandlwana which, with a price tag of around R1 billion which is the Authority’s most expensive asset, is South Africa’s first black female Dredge Master Londiwe Ngcobo.

Ngcobo is one of many TNPA women in mission critical positions who daily prove their mettle, aside their male counterparts, in South Africa’s demanding maritime industry, tackling the high seas and bad weather day and night to ensure the country’s ports run smoothly.

Dredging is critical to ensuring that the country’s ports remain open and safe for shipping. Nompumelelo Chamane, who is one of seven female cadets with TNPA’s Dredging Services, is the first to qualify as a Marine Engineer. She is currently on board the Crane. Of the remaining cadets, one is studying and five are completing their sea time after which they will take their final steps to attain their marine tickets, and bolster Dredging Services female engineering crew contingent.

The job of the harbour master is one of the most important jobs in any port authority around the world. The harbour master, in the port to which they are appointed, is the final authority over all matters relating to the movement of vessels within port limits including pilotage, navigation, navigational aids, dredging.

TNPA is proud to have women at the helm of East London and Mossel Bay ports and to be among the few countries world-wide to have female harbour masters.

Marine pilots guide ships, tankers and oil rigs in and out of ports without incidents. Working with huge vessels in a confined space pilots manoeuver ships between concrete structures, taking adverse weather conditions into account into account. In navigating the ship into the port they have to know the terrain and when to stop the engines and when to start the turn in order to avoid crashing into the berth or running the ship aground.

They work one week on and one week off, with 12 hours on and 36 hours off, either on day or night.

While these women rise to the challenge of their demanding jobs and cut a new path for their gender they also deal with an additional challenge – prejudice.

The women who have done their time at sea, many being the only female aboard a ship, will agree with Cape Town based marine pilot Yolisa Tshangela who says: “It’s very much a man’s world. You need to handle their shock and prejudice and you can’t let that get in the way of the job.”

Ellen Lehutso also a marine pilot at the Port of Cape Town says that talking of her experience with a foreign ship coming into port says: “I once had a whole of crew come up to the bridge to stare at me, and I was trying to tell them to make the tug fast and they just looked at me and laughed. You have to get through things like that.”

Helicopters are an essential tool for the marine services used at the Ports of Durban and Richards Bay to transport marine pilots to and from ships. Of the helicopter pilot cadets that graduated earlier this year eight were female. They are Marce Greyson, Nicolene Naidoo, Nontsikelelo Nkombisa, Bongani Mkansi, Khensani Hlungwani, and Zuziwe Mkhabela.

Aviation engineers are a key support function for the helicopters and of the eight trainee aviation engineers four are female. They are Phumlile Zondo, Joy Sekwati and Samukelisiwe Faith Mncadi. They are midway through a three-year aviation engineering diploma and are being trained by Denel at the Denel Technical Academy on behalf of TNPA.

While this programme will enable TNPA to service their helicopters in-house these engineers are also obtaining skills that are in demand world-wide.
Concludes Morwe, “For women, like Dredge Master Londiwe Ngcobo, who are being trained in these highly sought after mission critical skills, the sky is the limit.”