Sailors SocietyTMS Awards 2023TelestackBühler GmbHPort of StocktonCimbria
  • Port of Stockton
  • Vigan
  • Port of South Louisiana
  • TMS Awards 2023
  • Sailors Society
  • Bühler GmbH

Seafaring attractive option for all genders

(Posted on 10/12/20)

The Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) is delighted to announce that the popularity of its Maritime Cadet Corps continues unabated, despite the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 throughout much of the past year. More significant still is the high number of female cadets signing up for the three-year programme.

The number of females joining the corps underlines the success of World Maritime Day 2019’s theme of ‘Empowering Women in the Maritime Community’. The split to date in students enrolling for the 2020/2022 course stands at 65% female and 35% male. It is also clear evidence that the United Nations Substainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 – Gender Equality (Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls) – is gaining traction in The Bahamas. And it is not simply the quantity of girls that is significant, as five of the top seven cadets of the 2019/2020 intake were female, spread across both the deck and engineering competence.

BMA Managing Director and CEO, Captain Dwain Hutchinson, said: “Capacity building for the future is a BMA mandate and a key goal for our Corporate Social Responsibility and The Bahamas Maritime Cadet Corps (BMCC) plays a vital role in our efforts to achieve that. We are all particularly pleased to see that female students are signing up in high numbers and are more than demonstrating their competence and capability to be employed in this sector.”

The BMCC gives Bahamian high school students from grades 10 – 12 the opportunity to experience training in areas such as seamanship, shipboard operation, coastal navigation, fire-fighting, basic first aid and survival skills. Practical shipboard experience and in-kind support is provided by the Bahamas Shipowners Association, individual shipowners and Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF).

In November 2020 the cadets took a field trip on board the RBDF craft HMBS Kamalamee during its port call in Ingua, Bahamas.

“The BMA is very grateful to the Captain and crew of the HMBS Kamalamee for giving the students this amazing opportunity – receiving practical exposure to some of the aspects of seamanship and ship handling that they had learned about in the classroom has deepened their understanding of shipboard life. We are all delighted to see that there is still widespread interest in joining our profession – the cadets of today are the mariners of tomorrow,” adds Clayton Curtis, BMCC Coordinator.

Latest News

Biomar delivered to AtoB@C Shipping as production of last vessel of series begins

(Posted on 20/06/25)

Biomar has been delivered to ESL Shipping's subsidiary AtoB@C Shipping on June 16, bringing the number... Read more


Smart Ship Hub digital platform deployed for Great Eastern Shipping Company fleet

(Posted on 20/06/25)

Great Eastern Shipping Co. Ltd. (GESCO), India's largest private fleet owner of bulkers and tankers,... Read more


Baltic Exchange introduces monthly audits to improve Baltic index quality

(Posted on 20/06/25)

Baltic Exchange has launched a new quality control mechanism to support its ongoing audit policies for... Read more


INTERCARGO report: Safety gains continue but security threats emerge

(Posted on 15/06/25)

INTERCARGO, the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners, reports encouraging progress in bulk... Read more


Marcura and Sedna Partner to simplify maritime workflows

(Posted on 15/06/25)

Marcura and Dataloy Systems have announced a new phase in their long-standing strategic partnership... Read more


Ageing fleet drives surge in number of maritime incidents, says DNV report

(Posted on 06/06/25)

According to DNV’s latest report, Maritime Safety Trends 2014-2024 - Preparing for future risks... Read more


Two Damen Combi Freighters 3850 launched for Fast Lines Belgium

(Posted on 06/06/25)

The second of three Damen Combi Freighters (CF) 3850 has been launched in China for Fast Lines Belgium... Read more


Columbia: Diversity’s ‘forgotten twin’ inclusion must be priority

(Posted on 06/06/25)

Inclusion is every bit as important as diversity in ensuring that shipping becomes a truly welcoming... Read more


Postfix for shipbrokers made simple

(Posted on 02/06/25)

AXSMarine, a pioneer and market leader in the provision of advanced solutions and market intelligence... Read more


Veson Nautical and Great Eastern Shipping go live with IMOS Platform

(Posted on 30/05/25)

Veson Nautical, a global leader in maritime data and freight management solutions, and The Great Eastern... Read more


Geneva DryPort of South LouisianaTBA GroupVan AalstVigan
  • Van Aalst
  • Geneva Dry
  • Telestack

Subscribe to our newsletter

Keep up to date with the latest global news in bulk cargo handling and shipping