First female marine pilot ventures into uncharted waters

President Uhuru Kenyatta receives a Compass from Capt. Mugo Keiyoro and 2nd officer Elizabeth Marami when he officially opened the 1st National Maritime Conference at KICC, Looking on is Kenya Maritime Authority Director General, Mrs. Nancy Karigithu

At 26, Elizabeth Wakesho Marami is already making waves in Kenya’s maritime sector.

She is on course to become Kenya’s first female qualified marine pilot, a feat she achieved with exemplary success and which emanated from her love for the ocean.

The daughter of Mombasa paediatrician Aggrey Marami and school principal Veronica Marami  has won applause and accolades from all and sundry in the port city of Mombasa.

Wakesho’s male colleagues at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), where she is currently employed, describe her as a strong willed, confident and neat person.

Right career

The ambitious Kenyan trained at the prestigious Arab Academy For Maritime Transport and Technology in Alexandria, Egypt. She had her first real time sea experience in the Mediterranean Sea and then ventured into the Red Sea during her college stay in Egypt.

 “I went to Egypt to study in 2009 and graduated with a degree in nautical technology and licensed second officer class III (officer of the watch),” she said.

Wakesho is currently working for a license to become a fully fledged pilot. For this, she will be required to dock in and out 500 ships at the Mombasa port.

 “This will entirely depend on traffic at the port,” she says.

The trail blazer needs more sea time (going out to sea) to become a first officer as she navigates for higher rank in her field of specialty.

On her first day back at the Port of Mombasa, Wakesho boarded a bulk carrier, MV African Halcyon, which had docked at the Base Titanium Ship loading facility and was heading out to sea. She was accompanied by Captain Abdulaziz Mzee, a senior pilot.

“I knew there and then I had chosen the right career. I love my job,” she told The Standard on Sunday.

Prior to her ascendancy to these seemingly uncharted waters for women, Wakesho trained locally, learning how to steer and operate pilot boats during ship handling movements.

“I was tested on my capability, passed the test and moved to channel training, the next phase of my training. Here, I was tasked with steering vessels with the assistance and guidance of a senior pilot until I logged 500 ships,” she said.

Currently, Wakesho’s work involves boarding ships either at the entry to the harbour (for inbound vessels) or from their berth (outbound vessel) and safely navigating them out or inside the channel.

Her normal day starts as early as 5.30 a.m. if she is on the first shift schedule. Her attitude towards the male-dominated job, she adds, has given her the drive to excel. 

“I believe in being a pacesetter in the maritime field here in Kenya. I cannot afford to fail and ruin the chances for those women who come after me,” she says.

Wakesho thanks her colleagues, especially the pilots who have given her immense support. “I totally forget that I am a woman in a male dominated career. They have taken me as one of their own and are nurturing me to become the best I could ever be,’’ she said.

Driving force

Her parents are her biggest inspiration, she says. “It is through their support that I decided it is ship ahoy for me,’’ the ambitious marine pilot said.

But Wakesho does not have to look overseas for her role models. She says Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) Director General Nancy Karigithu has been her inspiration.

“Madam Karigithu has given me direction, encouraged me and held me by her hand as I learn the ropes,”   she says. Evelyn Chibule, the head of conventional cargo at the port of Mombasa and chairperson of Women in Maritime in Eastern and Southern Africa (WOMESA), not only inspires me by the heights she has scaled in this career, but has also been a driving force  for me,” she says.

“I need about 18 months working at sea and some class work before I become a first officer and another 18 months before becoming a certified captain. It is a long way but worth it,’’ Elizabeth, whose hobbies are writing, reading and travelling, said.

When not at sea, Wakesho is a part time student at the University of Nairobi (UON), Mombasa campus where she is pursuing  a masters degree in operations management.  Clearly, the ocean is no limit for her.