Page 29: of Marine News Magazine (September 2018)

28 30

Palmer Velli Urban when needed, supporting the three U O while living a lifestyle that allows them

NLIMITED PPORTUNITY full-time Captains who service the For those who are willing to learn, to have a family and be home at night.

Cape May-Lewes Ferry ? eet which or may have pulled themselves out of As the industry experiences a large includes the M/V Cape Henlopen, traditional career tracks, the opportu- portion of the workforce approach-

M/V New Jersey and M/V Delaware. nity for upward mobility is there. The ing retirement, and local hires become

They are responsible for supervising industry is one where you can work more dif? cult to ? nd, we must wel- the loading and discharging of ve- your way up regardless of schooling come this new talent with open arms. hicles and patrons on the car deck, or degrees. For example, Captain Sha- serving as the on-scene leader dur- ron Urban started her career in food

Heath Gehrke is the Director of Opera- tions for the Cape May – Lewes Ferry. ing onboard drills and emergencies, service, joined the Ferry crew and

He manages a staff of over 350 perma- completing the required records and worked her way up the ranks. nent and seasonal employees. He is a li- logs during a shift, as well as assisting Today women are breaking barriers censed U.S. Coast Guard Master and a the Captain with overall vessel man- in the maritime industry—they can

Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

agement. Each vessel can carry ap- have a successful career in seafaring proximately 800 passengers and 100 vehicles on any one journey, with a crew consisting of ten marine person- nel ranging from captain and chief engineer to ordinary seaman.

Recently, more women are being spotlighted in this role. On April 19, 2018, Ferry history was made with the ? rst all-female bridge crew navigating across the Delaware Bay with Captain Sharon Urban and with Melissa Velli serving as Pilot, and Helmsman Paulette Nickels. Be- yond the Delaware Bay, Fire Island

Ferries in New York has crews com- posed entirely of female captains and deckhands, with women making up about a third of its summer staff of 200. All-female crews can be found on the Davis Park Ferry, from Pa- tchogue to Fire Island, Sayville Ferry and North Ferry, from Greenport to

Shelter Island. And the NYC Ferry has women making up 40 percent of the maritime workforce.

29 www.marinelink.com MN

MN Sept18 Layout 18-31.indd 29 MN Sept18 Layout 18-31.indd 29 8/27/2018 4:02:07 PM8/27/2018 4:02:07 PM