Recent Stories
From Kindergarten to Pilotage: Two Mariners, One Goal, and a Career Built on Persistence
Editor's Note: This article is adapted from a story originally published in the BPC Pilotage Quarterly – Winter 2026 Special Edition by the Washington State Board of Pilotage Commissioners. The original article shared the journey of Captains Joel Michelson and Harlow...
Building a Career at Sea with Ade Tiznado Solorzano
Maritime careers rarely follow a straight path. Every vessel, operation, and crew presents new challenges and opportunities for growth. In Episode 259 of the Women Offshore Podcast, we sit down with Women Offshore Ambassador Ade Tiznado Solorzano, a Merchant Navy Deck...
Insights from Successful Mariners in Offshore Careers
The offshore industry asks a lot of the people who choose it. Long rotations. Demanding work. Time away from home. It is not an easy path, and for many, it can feel like you are figuring it out on your own. At Women Offshore, we hear that often. We also see something...
Women Offshore Ambassador Zanele Mthembu, a Navigation Officer working in the oil and chemical tanker industry
Zanele Mthembu has built her career navigating the demands of the oil and chemical tanker industry, where precision, safety, and decision making under pressure are part of daily life. As a Navigation Officer, her work centers on vessel operations, maritime safety, and...
Ambassador Feature Esra Konak- From Sea to Strategy
Esra Konak, a Master Captain and Women Offshore Ambassador, has built her career in one of the most demanding sectors of shipping, oil and chemical tankers. A graduate of Istanbul Technical University in Maritime Transportation and Management Engineering, she combines...
Christy Nandlal: A Global Career in Marine Seismic Operations and Leadership at Sea
Christy Nandlal has spent nearly two decades working across the world’s oceans supporting complex geophysical operations. As a Chief Field Geophysicist, her career has taken her from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Sea, contributing to marine seismic exploration and...
Featured Sea Stories
Pride at Sea: Why Visibility Matters in Maritime
Every mariner's path into the industry is different. Some grow up around ports and vessels. Others discover maritime careers later in life, often by chance. For Wes Clanton, the journey began with a love of the water and a desire to try something new. Today, Wes...
Insights from Successful Mariners in Offshore Careers
The offshore industry asks a lot of the people who choose it. Long rotations. Demanding work. Time away from home. It is not an easy path, and for many, it can feel like you are figuring it out on your own. At Women Offshore, we hear that often. We also see something...
Women Offshore Ambassador Zanele Mthembu, a Navigation Officer working in the oil and chemical tanker industry
Zanele Mthembu has built her career navigating the demands of the oil and chemical tanker industry, where precision, safety, and decision making under pressure are part of daily life. As a Navigation Officer, her work centers on vessel operations, maritime safety, and...
Ade Solorzano: Chief Mate Advocating for Safety, Visibility, and the Next Generation of Women at Sea
Ade Solorzano understands firsthand what it means to build a maritime career in spaces where women are still underrepresented. As a Chief Mate with Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, she has spent years navigating the operational demands of life at sea while developing...
From Divemaster to Dive Safety Officer: Kim Malkoski’s Career Underwater
By Liz Schmidt | Women Offshore Blog | Podcast Episode 252 Scientific diving is a specialized discipline that blends operational precision, safety management, and marine research. In Episode 252 of the Women Offshore Podcast, we speak with Kim Malkoski, Assistant...
Trailblazer Feature: Spyridoula Zova
From First Responder to Offshore Paramedic, Following the Call Beyond Fear Spyridoula Zova’s career didn’t begin with a long-term plan or a childhood dream of emergency medicine. It began on the side of a road. As a first-year Business Administration student in...
Navigate Your Career
Women Offshore Ambassador Zanele Mthembu, a Navigation Officer working in the oil and chemical tanker industry
Zanele Mthembu has built her career navigating the demands of the oil and chemical tanker industry, where precision, safety, and decision making under pressure are part of daily life. As a Navigation Officer, her work centers on vessel operations, maritime safety, and...
Start Here
Start Here: Navigating Your Career with Women Offshore Leadership For many mariners entering the industry, the biggest challenge isn’t just getting started—it’s knowing where to find guidance along the way. In this episode of the Women Offshore Podcast, Executive...
New Year, New Job? Knowing When It’s Time for a Change
Career change is rarely sudden. More often, it begins quietly, with a feeling that something no longer fits, even if it once did. Across the Women Offshore community, many professionals shared that their decision to make a change was not driven by failure, but by...
Trailblazer Feature: Spyridoula Zova
From First Responder to Offshore Paramedic, Following the Call Beyond Fear Spyridoula Zova’s career didn’t begin with a long-term plan or a childhood dream of emergency medicine. It began on the side of a road. As a first-year Business Administration student in...
Career Moves and Risks That were Absolutely Worth it
Some of the most defining career decisions feel uncomfortable in the moment they are made. Febronia (Nellie) Shigwedha, an electrician with Southey Contracting Offshore Division, reflects on the risk of entering the marine electrical field knowing she would often be...
From Deck Cadet Inspiration to ROV Pilot: The Evolving Journey of Nicole Marcer
Nicole Marcer’s path into offshore operations began with a single conversation in 2012. She met a woman working as a deck cadet, and for the first time, she saw someone who looked like her in a world she had never imagined herself entering. That moment planted a seed...
Podcast
Reading the Sea Through Data with Michela Monteverde
Every vessel leaves behind more than a wake—it leaves behind data. In this episode of the Women Offshore Podcast, we sit down with Michela Monteverde, founder of HarborFlow, to discuss how maritime intelligence is helping the industry better understand vessel...
From Sea to Screen: Using Data to Transform Maritime Operations
The maritime industry generates enormous amounts of data every day. From vessel performance and fuel consumption to port operations and supply chain logistics, information is constantly being collected. The challenge is knowing how to use it effectively. In Episode...
What Nearly 20 Years in Recruiting Can Teach Us About Building Careers
Behind every job posting is a hiring decision. Behind every hiring decision is a person evaluating experience, potential, leadership, and fit. In this episode of the Women Offshore Podcast, we sit down with Shasta Kahoalii, Founder of Athena Talent Group, to discuss...
Building a Career at Sea with Ade Tiznado Solorzano
Maritime careers rarely follow a straight path. Every vessel, operation, and crew presents new challenges and opportunities for growth. In Episode 259 of the Women Offshore Podcast, we sit down with Women Offshore Ambassador Ade Tiznado Solorzano, a Merchant Navy Deck...
Highlighting Women in Maritime with Heather Ervin
The maritime industry depends on more than vessels, ports, and operations. It also depends on the people documenting the work, elevating industry conversations, and creating visibility for the professionals moving the sector forward. In Episode 258 of the Women...
Building the Maritime Workforce with Denielle Christensen
In this episode of the Women Offshore Podcast, we speak with Denielle Christensen, Executive Director and CEO of WaveWorks Alliance. Denielle’s career began outside of maritime, but she spent more than two decades immersed in the commercial marine industry through her...
WOMEN OFFSHORE MENTORSHIP!
Offshore Lifestyle
From Cadet to Chief Mate: How Max Kantor Is Navigating Leadership, Integrity, and Life at Sea
For Max Kantor, the maritime industry isn’t just a career; it’s part of her DNA. Growing up in the harbors of Long Beach and Los Angeles, Max spent her childhood surrounded by ships and dockside operations. Her parents both worked in the port where they met, her...
Stronger Doesn’t Mean Harder: Why It’s Time to Redefine Resilience at Sea
In Episode 244 of the Women Offshore Podcast, Executive Director Liz Schmidt and Director of Career Development Christine MacMillan sit down for an open and honest conversation about resiliency—and why it may be time to rethink how we talk about it. Resilience is...
Standing the Watch: Navigating Motherhood and a Maritime Career
When Women Offshore Director of Career Programs, Christine MacMillan, received a call to support a ship conversion project in Houma, Louisiana, she didn’t hesitate to step back aboard. Nearly nine years had passed since her steel-toed boots last hit a steel deck. The...
Sailing Strong: Andrew Bruhl on Building Health and Wellness Offshore
Sailing Strong: Andrew Bruhl on Building Health and Wellness Offshore By Christine MacMillan | Women Offshore Blog | Podcast Episode 240 In Episode 240 of the Women Offshore Podcast, Christine MacMillan sits down with Andrew Bruhl, mariner-turned-entrepreneur and...
From classroom to crew: Samantha McCririck’s journey to yachting & yoga, Episode 228
On this episode of the Women Offshore Podcast, we welcome Samantha McCririck, Chief Stewardess, aboard the charter yacht Unbridled. Originally from Newcastle, Australia, Samantha grew up with a deep connection to the ocean, spending her childhood surfing, snorkeling,...
WOULD YOU LET YOUR DAUGHTER JOIN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY? EPISODE 200
We're thrilled to mark our 200th episode milestone at Women Offshore with a special discussion you won't want to miss! Join our Women Offshore team, Ally Cedeno, Cassi Laskowski, and Christine MacMillan, as they dive deep into a question that sparks curiosity and...
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