Captain Rosemelyn On Board Of AS Patria

This write-up has been excerpted from the magazine "Telegraph" by Wilhelmsen Ahrenkiel Ship Management.

Having a woman in a leadership position is not a special event anymore in today’s times, but in the male-dominated world of shipping, this is a small milestone towards a tolerant world where gender does not matter anymore, but only people, their experience, and skills. No matter how long a road is, it’s always worth taking if something great comes out of it in the end.

Captain Rosemelyn, the first Female Captain in Wilhelmsen Ahrenkiel
Ship Management.

Captain Rosemelyn de Villa Boongaling’s path began in the Philippines, where she was born as one of five siblings. Her ultimate goal at first was not to pursue a career in seafaring but also to graduate with a degree in order to have a good path in the working world in the future. There was always the dream of something “big” in her, but as a child she could not yet interpret it, and it was not yet clear to her where this dream could lead. While she was working towards her degree, the “big thing” came back to her mind, which eventually turned out to be a “ship”. And so it was that she took up her first contract as a cadet on a container vessel.

But her family has always been behind her. Her father, in particular, has believed in her from day one. And it was probably also this family backing that supported her during her first voyage as a captain. Looking back, she explained that this time seemed surreal to her and that the busy trade took over her completely.

The cohesion of the crew on board is all the more important. But even there, Captain Rosemelyn de Villa Boongaling quickly developed a sense of how to keep her crew together. On Halloween, for example, there was a little free time at sea, so “Rose”, as she is also known, organised an unplanned buffet dinner on deck. Afterwards, anyone who wanted could participate in a table tennis tournament and win small prizes. “With all the crew coming from a full day of work, it was so delightful to see that everybody still participated and had some fun during the day. At the end of the day, I realised that having four stripes on my shoulder means not only big responsibility but perhaps it is the duty to fulfil and serve the purpose that I am charged with,” summarised Rose after the event.

Head of Crewing Susanne Petkovic has accompanied Rosy for a long time at Wilhelmsen Ahrenkiel Ship Management: “Since I first met her, I’ve known she has a big heart. When she took over from the previous captain, she gave a ‘thank-you cake’ to Capt. Salama. I kind of feel like her mentor as I have been guiding her for such a long time. It was a long way to go for her. As a woman in the shipping industry, I always feel that women are expected to be better than men in any kind of position. But in the end, Captain Rosemelyn de Villa Boongaling convinced all of us in Wilhelmsen Ahrenkiel Ship Management that she has the potential to be the leader of one of our vessels. We trust in her.”

We wish Captain Rosemelyn de Villa Boongaling always safe sailings and look forward to several more contracts together with her.

Captain Rosemelyn and Susanne.

Read more stories from the Wilhelmsen Ahrenkiel Ship Management magazine, Telegraph via this link: https://www.wilhelmsen-ahrenkiel.com/