All-female tug crew lead the way

Svitzer Caribbean Dominicana now employs an all-female crew on its 70 ton bollard pull ASD tug ‘Svitzer Monte Cristi’ operating in the ports of Rio Haina and Caucedo in the Dominican Republic.

By providing more opportunities to women facing gender equality challenges, Svitzer Caribbean Dominicana continues to lead the industry in many ways. The man behind this initiative is Svitzer Caribbean general manager Capt Dickson Rivas, who wanted to improve the diversity of the Svitzer crew in the Dominican Republic.

This initiative began two years ago when Capt Eduard Medina of Svitzer Dominicana began coaching the first group of female crews. Capt Medina showed a strong personal commitment to training the female crew, letting nothing get in his way until the company had its first female captain, Maria De Los Santos. Captain De Los Santos says her training began with basic seamanship tasks, safety awareness and knowledge, stability and navigation, among other things. “It’s a demanding education and you have to work hard, regardless of gender,” she said.

She continued: “As a woman in this line of work, you really decide yourself what obstacles you have to face. It’s all about how you face challenges and how hard you work to overcome them. The best aspect of the job is receiving positive comments from the pilot and the vessel captain on completion of a tug job. I like seeing how the crew members light up, knowing they’ve achieved what was set out – their professional pride, basically.”

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