Elizabeth Marami, Kenya's first female marine pilot has just been promoted from Second Officer to First Officer of Celebrity Edge, a cruise ship operated by Celebrity Cruises headquartered in Miami, United States.
On March 8, 2020, Celebrity Cruises set sail with the first ever all-female bridge and onboard leadership team and made history. Just days later, the pandemic suspended sailings indefinitely.
Around the world, only 2 percent of mariners are women. Celebrity Cruises catalzyed the maritime industry, leading it into a more diverse future and growing the number of women on their bridge teams from three percent to 28 percent.
Born and bred in the coastal city Mombasa, Marami initially studied law at the University of Nairobi, but later changed course and went on to pursue navigation in Alexandria, Egypt for 5 years.
Her job as a marine pilot entails assisting vessels with coming into territorial waters because according to law, vessels entering a country’s territorial waters may not progress to the harbor without officials.