As we reflect back on women’s month, we are reminded of the ongoing work in the maritime sector to ensure that women are given equal opportunities and that their human rights are protected.
On 31 August 2026, the last day of women’s month, the South African Maritime Safety Authority’s (SAMSA) Occupational Health & Safety and Maritime Welfare Unit made an ad-hoc visit to the vessel MV Goodwind in Cape Town as part of the awareness campaign under the GBV at Sea programme.
The visit was intended to drive the clear message that we must keep in mind the challenges that female seafarers continue to face at sea. This ad-hoc visit was well received by the ship officers and the crew.
The 2026 BIMCO and ICS Seafarer Workforce Report estimates active global seafarer numbers to be at 2.57 million with the number of female seafarers continuing to remain at just over 1% of the total seafarer workforce.
According to various reports, female seafarers continue to face various barriers to entry and encounter challenges in progressing in their careers. Female seafarers additionally face challenges such as discrimination based on gender, bullying, non-accommodative working environments, sexual harassment and sexual assault, blacklisting for those who dare to speak, shipowners not willing to provide cadetship berths to female seafarers or the denial to employ female seafarers at all.
These challenges are not only barriers to entry but affect the sustainability of gender programmes as many female seafarers feel discouraged and end up leaving their seafaring careers prematurely.
Between 2021 – 2025, about 29% of seafarers who enrolled in the country’s National Cadetship Programme were female. This is an encouraging figure that creates a challenge for SAMSA and other role players to continue with the efforts to curb these barriers.
South Africa, alongside international counterparts proposed extensive amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention, 2026 (MLC 2006) to ensure that the subject of violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault is mainstreamed and is included in the MLC 2006 as well as other texts that provide for an accommodative environment to female seafarers.
The efforts culminated in the adoption of the amendments by the ILO. https://lnkd.in/dTw5YAHV
The amendments which are expected to come into effect in December 2027 bring the following into the MLC, 2006
- For the first time in the history of maritime related conventions, the subject of sexual harassment and sexual assault is addressed.
- The amendments specify responsibilities for shipowners e.g. training, reporting, adoption and implementation of the policies on the subject.
- Flag States such as RSA are to develop regulations that seek to eliminate and prohibit violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault as well as reporting mechanism that protects victims.
- Port States such as RSA are to cooperate with other affected States during investigation of cases.
- Seafarers are to comply with policies and other measures in place to prevent and address shipboard violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault.
- Labour supplying States (including Seafarer Recruitment and Placement Services) are to put measures in place to prevent and address violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault, in recruitment and placement processes.
Women’s month allowed us to reflect deeper on the struggles that female seafarers continue to face and reminds us that we all have a responsibility to ensure that women’s rights continue to be protected.
Seafarers who have been victims of violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault are reminded to contact SAMSA’s Maritime Welfare Unit via email on welfare@samsa.org.za. The email is manned by an official qualified in the subject and who will ensure confidentiality and sensitivity.