It was curious to see a ship with a Malayalam-sounding name passing by TRV. When a ship is named ‘Kapitan’, one naturally wants to know what it means. But the second part of the name was completely unfamiliar: Kapitan Shchetinina. It seemed to reflect a Russian connection. Further investigation led to a great woman we should remember on World Maritime Day: Anna Ivanovna Shchetinina, who lived from 1908 to 1999.
Anna was the world’s first woman to become a ship’s captain, achieving the rank at the age of 27. She entered a field dominated by men. Born in Vladivostok, Russia, Anna joined the navigation department of the local marine school as a student in 1925. Like many others, she started in an entry-level position on a ship. She obtained her navigation licence at 24 and was promoted to captain within three years. Her first voyage as captain in 1935 garnered worldwide attention. Commanding the MV Chavycha, she started in Hamburg, Germany, sailed past Europe, Africa, and Asia, and reached Russia’s east coast. She also commanded ships during the Second World War. After retiring from sailing, she focused on teaching. In 2023, the FESCO Transport Group honoured her memory by naming their container ship Kapitan Shchetinina. This is the only ship with that name, and it passed by TRV recently.
The full story is in this week’s subscriber edition.