The WISTA (Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association) UK Southampton branch was officially launched last night at Lloyd’s Register’s new premises in Southampton.

Chaired by Ewen Macdonald, Director of Seavision and officiated by Sue Terpilowski OBE, President of WISTA UK, the event saw individuals from a variety of different maritime backgrounds gather to celebrate an exciting new chapter for WISTA UK.

The new Southampton chapter will help to broaden the scope of WISTA UK, providing interested women and men from the maritime cluster in the surrounding area easy access to the WISTA network. Members will also benefit from the teaching, support and inspiration of WISTA membership locally, regionally and internationally.

Founded in 1972, WISTA UK is the longest running WISTA globally and aims to establish a wide range of regional pockets in order to expand and interconnect an already growing network.

WISTA provides a global support network for women throughout the shipping and maritime industries to meet, share and discuss work related issues. The association is devoted to providing networking, training and mentoring among its members, as well as educational events, seminars, conferences and informal social meetings.

The evening was opened by Tom Boardley, Marine Director of Lloyd’s Register, followed by a talk from Dr Kate Pike, Senior Research Fellow at Southampton Solent University who will be leading the new WISTA UK branch.

Guest speaker Katy Ware, Permanent Representative of the UK to IMO at the MCA, provided some personal reflections about life as a woman in the maritime sector. She also outlined some of the work that the IMO is doing in promoting gender equality and empowering women in the industry.
“As a woman who has risen through the ranks, I am aware that I have a responsibility to other women in the maritime sector to share my experience with them and support them in their career development. We are very few and we need a network to support each other which is why the IMO global programme for the integration of women in the maritime sector and associations such as WISTA are so terribly important.”

Joining Dr Kate Pike as part of the new Southampton team will also be Emma Broadhurst and Natalie Vigar from Southampton Solent University, and Teresa Stevens of Guardian Maritime Services Ltd.

The Southampton team would be delighted to welcome new members to their branch, ranging from senior management to cadet level, both women and men with diverse maritime backgrounds.

Vira Maritime