Ferry operator Stena Line is reaching out to women in Northern Ireland to attend a taster day at the company’s terminal in Belfast Harbour to encourage them to pursue a career as a Port Service Operative.

With women making up just 2% of seafarers and 12% of core roles in ports globally*, Stena Line is committed to increasing the representation of women both at sea and onshore as part of its Diversity and Inclusion strategy. The ferry operator currently has equal men and women at Group Management level and has a long-term goal of a gender equal workforce across the business.

Taking place at Stena Line’s Victoria Terminal 2 on West Bank Road on Thursday 9th May, Stena Line’s Women’s Port Taster Day is targeted specifically at women to give them an idea of what working at a port involves and encourage them to consider a career in Port Operations. On the day, participants will hear about what it is like to work as a Port Service Operative for Stena Line, receive a tour of the port, followed by the opportunity to take a seat in a ‘tug master,’ which is used to tow unaccompanied freight units onto the ships.

Darren Byers, Port Manager at Stena Line in Belfast said, “We’re looking forward to welcoming women in Northern Ireland to our taster day at the port to find out what a career in port operations entails. Following a successful event held last year at our terminal in Birkenhead, we are rolling out this initiative in Belfast in the hope it piques the interest of some potential applicants. Port Service Operatives are a key part of our day to day running of the port. We have exciting plans at Stena Line in Belfast, and we look forward to showcasing it as a great place to work and a rewarding career choice."

The role of a Port Service operator involves mooring of vessels on arrival, loading and unloading ships, assisting passengers in boarding and disembarkation, and driving tug masters to deliver unaccompanied freight.

In March, Stena Line launched a new concept for International Women’s Day, “We’ll celebrate when we get there.” This manifesto acknowledged that the company has not yet reached the point of gender balance, but included the steps that it is taking and pledged to celebrate once it reaches these targets.

Nicola Barlow, People Business Partner, Stena Line, said, “Historically, the maritime industry has been predominantly male, and Stena Line is actively seeking to improve the representation of women on our ships and at our ports. Gender equality is one of our three primary focus areas within our Diversity & Inclusion Strategy and we have ambitious targets to meet in terms of gender balance. Our Women’s Port Taster Days are just one of our initiatives that Stena Line is rolling out to improve gender equality across the business, and once we achieve it, then we’ll celebrate.”

Stena Line is the largest ferry operator on the Irish Sea, with the biggest fleet providing up to 248 weekly sailings offering the widest choice of routes including combined passenger and freight services: Belfast-Cairnryan; Belfast-Liverpool; Dublin-Holyhead; Rosslare-Fishguard and Rosslare-Cherbourg.

The company also runs a dedicated freight-only route from Belfast to Heysham, in addition to the new Dublin-Liverpool (Birkenhead) route.

Spaces at this event are limited and registration is required. Register on this link.

Interested individuals can contact Stena Line for more information by emailing: [email protected]

To find out more about working at Stena Line visit: stenaline.com/career