Addressing the reality of feminine hygiene products’ supply on ships
By Sandra Welch
The maritime industry is making great strides toward better gender representation. Thanks to the dedication of trailblazers who have shattered social and structural barriers, more women are thriving both at sea and onshore. Yet, despite this progress, women routinely encounter easily fixable challenges while working at sea – simply because the industry still assumes the average seafarer is male.
As our industry looks to embed the progress of the last decade, we must consider the simple and affordable solutions that will create a truly inclusive environment for everyone in our workforce.
Menstrual health is a vital consideration for women seafarers, who may spend weeks or months without easy access to the conveniences of life on shore. While discussions of this nature may have their own taboos in cultures around the world, employers should be mindful that a lack of feminine hygiene products could significantly impact a seafarer’s ability to perform
her duties. Beyond the moral imperative to ensure workers are physically healthy and comfortable, this expands into the possibility of female workers experiencing stress and discomfort when faced with having to approach their colleagues or supervisors in a male- dominated workforce to seek solutions – subsequently impacting their mental health and wellbeing.
High-level discussions are currently focused on the critical challenges women in shipping face, including harassment, bullying, wage discrimination, limited access to training, and fewer career opportunities. These conversations are vital, and I’m eager for our industry to fast-track solutions. However, there are less visible yet equally impactful issues, such as the lack of access to menstrual hygiene products, to which solutions are already available. By addressing this simple need, and ensuring women have access to the basic products they require to successfully perform their duties, I am confident we can dramatically improve the lives of women working at sea.
Estimating needs
It would be simple to dismiss feminine hygiene products as a planning issue for women to address themselves. In theory, seafarers have a contract length and can plan accordingly for their stay on a ship.
In reality, already long contracts can extend at short notice, turning what may have seemed like an ample supply of necessities like tampons and sanitary towels into a problem with no easy solution.
Additionally, luggage limitations and the bulky nature of some products may make it difficult to pack enough for a long contract, and restrictions on shore leave limit the ability of women at sea to reliably access shops selling the items they need.
In an industry where shipowners are investing heavily in the latest high-speed satellite internet technologies to keep families connected and enabling crews to watch sports events on demand, you could be forgiven for thinking that seafarers’ basic needs have long been covered. Our interactions with seafarers have shown this is not always the case – as has independent research conducted by the Seafarers International Research Centre at Cardiff University on the welfare needs of women on cargo ships.
Having identified this challenge and recognising its impact on the health of women at sea and shipping’s ability to retain their talent, the Seafarers Hospital Society (SHS) launched a pilot project in August 2024 to provide free feminine hygiene products at two UK ports.
Over 12 months, we will distribute 1,000 discrete feminine hygiene kits containing sanitary towels, tampons, and period pants to women seafarers at the London International Cruise Terminal, and a further 30 kits will be provided in partnership with the QVSR London Tilbury Seafarer Centre, distributing the kits to seafarers on cargo ships calling at the Port of Tilbury via the Port Chaplain.
This project was made possible by a generous £25,000 grant from the TK Foundation and The Seafarers’ Charity, partners who share in our hope that the project will underline the need for these products onboard vessels and at ports across the world.
We hope that by raising awareness of this concern, more shipping companies will seek feminine hygiene solutions for their female seafarers, helping them feel considered, valued and included at their onboard workplace – paving the way for more talented women seafarers to advance their careers and thrive in our industry.
Sandra Welch is CEO of the Seafarers Hospital Society.
