To everyone who donated to our cause in the past few weeks: you helped us hit our fundraising goal and for this we want to send out the most heartfelt THANK YOU!
We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season this year!
Best wishes,
Sea Sisters
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To everyone who donated to our cause in the past few weeks: you helped us hit our fundraising goal and for this we want to send out the most heartfelt THANK YOU!
We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season this year!
Best wishes,
Sea Sisters
In the spring of 2016, Sea Sisters started as a simple project: gather and publish the stories of women who are working in the maritime industry to give people a look into our lives, and to inspire the next generation of girls and women to give a career in maritime a shot.
Here we are at the end of 2018, and in the last two years we have connected with countless women and men who wish to support the effort to increase the percentage of women in the maritime industry worldwide. We have made an impact in our community, both in person and online.
Since the beginning, all of our operating costs have been paid for out-of-pocket. Now it is time to grow, so that we can give back to our community and make a greater impact on the success of future generations of women in maritime. To make this happen, we need your help.
Our goal in 2019 is to register as a nonprofit. With nonprofit status, we can apply for grants and sponsorships to fund networking events and scholarships. Potential donors can make tax-deductible donations. And we are committed to remaining transparent in the allocation of our funds, so you can always feel free to email us with any questions and we'll gladly discuss our funding goals with you.
Any amount is appreciated. To express our gratitude for your continued support, every donor will receive a pack of Sea Sisters stickers and a handwritten thank-you note.
Thank you, and happy holidays!
Sea Sisters
by Rebecca Rankin
Over the weekend of November 1-3, 2018, I had the honor of attending the Women on the Water (WOW) conference which took place at Maine Maritime Academy, where I am currently enrolled as a non-traditional, 32-year-old first year student. Maine Maritime hosted the event for the first time in many moons and enjoyed the participation of over 150 students, professionals and educators hailing from all over the United States, Canada and even Norway! The conference offered workshops, panel discussions, speakers, waterfront tours, mock interviews and plenty of time to mingle and get to know the plethora of incredible maritime professionals present during socials, meals and activities. And despite the gloomy, overcast and rainy Maine weather, most attendees left the weekend with a big smile on their faces, stoked to be part of such a magnanimous group of women, getting to know one another and becoming stronger for it.
I have never personally attended a conference of female maritime professionals and, I must admit, I was pretty hesitant to try it out. To be honest, I don’t reconcile myself well with the concept of “small talk.” In fact, I used to feel a deep sense of relief when working with engineers who refused to speak until they had consumed their first cup of coffee, and the idea of “socializing” with a hundred and fifty strangers, no matter their gender or career, made me as nervous as a Chihuahua on the fourth of July.
However, in accordance with the personal creed that “where there is the sense of discomfort, there is something to be learned,” I accepted the invitation from MMA’s Vice President for Student Affairs Liz True to not only attend the conference, but also to moderate a panel discussion. Three cheers for stepping outside your comfort zone…!
…seriously, though. First, a group of Canadian mariners, who recognized my cagey eyes and apparent desire to flee, cornered me and would not allow me to leave. They started asking me questions about boats. Then a beautiful woman in the group offered me a compliment. Then a Californian maritime student struck up a magnificent conversation with me concerning her love of mathematics. She tactfully queried me, “What is the highest level of mathematics available at your institution?” and we then shared a glorious conversation about how math is magic and gosh, wouldn’t it be wonderful to achieve a degree in mathematics? Then I met Deb Dempsey, a personal hero of mine and of many other strong women. Captain Dempsey was the first female graduate of Maine Maritime, as well as the first woman to become a Columbia River Bar pilot.
Later, a woman who simply would not stop laughing sat down next to me at dinner. She happened to know everyone who has ever been onboard a boat, of course. What is this place, what a wild opportunity! I met tugboat, tanker and schooner captains, some of the finest in the industry; listened to the advice of accomplished women speaking to their peers in a variety of panel discussions ranging from achieving a balance of work and life (i.e. I’m pregnant and I’m a mariner; what the hell do I do now?), to the ups and downs of the various maritime labor unions, to the advantages of owning your own company, a topic that was discussed in the Limited License Captain’s panel I moderated. There was so much energy, so many stories, so many incredibly brave, strong and barrier-breaking women in one place at one time. I’d never seen anything like it! It was absolutely amazing.
The students of MMA’s Women on the Water club worked tirelessly to prepare for this event, and their efforts paid off. I find it incredibly inspiring that so many women from so many different facets of the industry took the time to come together and network in the rather remote, small town of Castine, Maine. We did it because events like these are essential to supporting women and closing the gender gap in maritime.
Female mariners are a special breed. We spend a lot of time alone, a lot of time at sea, and a lot of time being the odd person out. These careers are on the edge of societal awareness, and the industry teeters on the edge of recent antiquity. Gender still plays a huge role in one’s professional image and women are terrifically underrepresented in the industry overall. As Captain Dempsey so tactfully put it: “sweetie, you can hope for 20% in my lifetime.”
But, as evidenced by the moving finale to the conference, a staged interview between the first female graduate of Maine Maritime Academy Deb Dempsey and current Women on the Water President Mary Shea, we will persevere. Time continues forward. There are more events like this one on the horizon and the groundbreaking nature of the Women on the Water will continue, as will the conversations had and the support networks built in this nurturing environment.
So many women make excellent mariners, deserving of recognition and support, and I was so honored to be a part of this event. I am, however, sad I missed the excursion to Acadia National Park and the dip-in-Penobscot-Bay-in-your-skivvies-in-November portion of the conference… so let’s do it again, y’all!
We recently received a message from a reader named Jill who wanted to talk to our contributor, Carrie, about the challenges she had faced and overcome as a new mom working offshore; specifically, the maintenance and transportation of her breast milk supply while offshore to keep her baby fed with an optimum diet while at home.
We have been receiving a lot of questions and interest in general lately about regulations relating to women working offshore while pregnant, but there are so few regulations in place, and so few companies who have any kind of standing pregnancy policy, that we don’t have much to offer on that topic at the moment. But we will keep pursuing the subject and try to build more reference material for whomever might be interested, because it appears to us that the main crux of retention of women in the maritime sector is the challenge of pregnancy, birth, and childcare with respect to maintaining a maritime career during and after the fact.
In the meantime, check out what Carrie and Jill had to say about pumping and transporting breast milk home while offshore:
Message from Jill via SeaSisters.org
Subject: Carrie’s story on being offshore pregnant and pumping offshore
Message: I pumped and dumped offshore after my first son. I traveled offshore at 24 weeks pregnant with my second. Now I’m facing the reality of pumping offshore again. I’d like to talk to Carrie if possible. Wondering if there is a way to keep the supply and not dump. I think they would let me freeze my supply, but I’m worried about the cleanliness of the water supply to wash the pump parts. Thank you,
Jill
Jill,
Hello, it is great to have the opportunity to collaborate with a fellow offshore mom! I would love to chat about my thoughts on pumping offshore. Thank you so much for reaching out through seasisters!
In order to really understand your situation and to gauge the logistics you will encounter traveling to work and during the duration of your offshore hitch, can you tell me more about your offshore assignment during which you will want to try pumping and storing your breast milk?
Water quality onboard different vessels varies. The engineering team onboard our vessel currently uses a reverse osmosis system. Seawater is pumped from the sea chests, the osmosis plant separates the salt from the seawater, the now-fresh water is run through UV filters and then chlorine tablets are added to the potable water tanks to kill any remaining bacteria. I have talked to several engineers and there is no clear standard to exactly how much chlorine is added to the potable water which scares me a little. We are talking the same chlorine tabs that you add to pools to keep them clean. But on the other hand, most of the engineers feel comfortable drinking the potable water themselves. This is the fresh water supply the vessel uses for bathing and general catering purposes. They tell us not to drink the water here, not because it is necessarily unsafe to drink, but because they don't want to risk the water somehow becoming contaminated and a $650,000-per-day vessel losing all of its crew members because they consumed bad water.
It is less risky for my company to just purchase bottled water and tell the crew not to use the potable water for drinking. This being said, I would feel safe washing my pump parts in this water. Check onboard your vessel for the specifics. If I was to keep the breast milk I pumped offshore, I would either wash with the regular potable water or bottled water, and then sterilize the pump parts after I washed them so there would be no issue of bacteria whatsoever. You can buy sterilizers that plug into an outlet, or my personal favorite is the microwave steam bags that you can reuse around 20 times and then throw away. In an absolute pinch, when there isn't a microwave handy, I used Dr. Brown's Breast pump part sanitizing wipes [Dr. Browns are no longer manufactured but these Medela sanitizing wipes are the same thing.]
My husband, sister, and several of my mom’s friends brainstormed MANY scenarios in regard to my personal situation of wanting to keep my breast milk supply going for my son and keeping the milk without dumping it. The issues I faced included the below topics:
Supplies
-Breast pumps (BP): battery operated vs. AC power vs. hand pumps
Places to pump. This is where the battery-powered pumps are king because you can use them wherever, whenever, as long as the battery is charged. Battery longevity varies per pump and age of the machine. Pump power and effectiveness also varies per BP manufacturer. Make sure you try the pump at home and know it well prior to traveling with it.
Places to charge the battery-operated BP if you are traveling on long flights/long distance to the vessel; have an extra cord in case the power charger fails.
Keeping a manual pump on hand means at least you have one to get the job done as a backup when all else fails.
Breast pumps have A LOT of accessories!
-“Keep Cool Bag” for breast milk when in transit
There are many different types to choose from but the wisest choice would be to find something that is neither too large/bulky to be a carry-on in a plane, nor too small to fit the quantity of breast milk you need to transport.
Finding a reliable bag that actually keeps the contents cool
Method of keeping the contents cool: Ice pack - will the ice melt and then leak? Will the ice pack last long enough to get home? Will TSA let you travel with a bag containing ice, or will they confiscate it? Could there be places to refreeze the ice packs along my trip to or from the rig?
-Shipping container to ship the frozen breast milk that I have pumped throughout my hitch offshore on the vessel.
TSA will not allow "more than a reasonable amount of breast milk" as a carry-on through TSA security. *See below section for info I found on the web regarding TSA and breast milk.
Filling the shipping container with the breast milk and enough keep-cool material (ice, ice packs, dry ice) to make it home safely.
Transporting the shipping container full of BM from the vessel to the airport.
Freezing conditions onboard the vessel and transporting the BM home
My husband and I were really worried about curious crew members poking around in my personal effects and the capability level of the Campboss patrolling or enforcing Angolan catering crew to stay out of my frozen breast milk. There are only the walk-in freezers onboard my drillship. If the galley crew is willing (as you said in your email) to let you keep your breast milk in their freezer, that is a huge bonus.
I was worried about the copious amount of "carry on items" I would need to bring with me through security and on the plane and eventually to the vessel. I am/was self-conscious about having to explain and defend myself to everyone around me about traveling with breast milk and the necessary supplies without my child. I was worried that I would put all this work into breast milk travel logistics to only have the milk thrown away by a disrespectful TSA agent or refused transport by the airlines. I was not confident enough to "power through" all the physical and emotional challenges of saving my breast milk to bring home.
I absolutely, 100% want to support you in your breast milk pumping and storing adventures. Please let me know your situation and we can brainstorm together! My husband and I are trying for our second currently (fingers crossed!) and together we could come up with a plan for storing and bringing home breast milk for our little ones, or as an afterthought, donating the milk to a local family. I can't wait to hear your thoughts.
Carrie
*More on Traveling with breast milk at airports through TSA: https://exclusivepumping.com/traveling-with-breast-milk/
Traveling with Breast Milk by Plane
One good thing about flying is that your breast pump is considered a “medical device” and therefore doesn’t count as a carry-on, so you can plan on packing your luggage as you normally would.
Packing your milk
For passengers flying in the U.S., while there is no defined limit to how much breast milk you can bring with you, the TSA website references a “reasonable amount.” Leaving “reasonable amount” up to an individual TSA officer would make me nervous, so if you need to bring a substantial amount of breast milk with you on a trip, I would probably opt to either ship it ahead to your destination or check it. This is a great tutorial on how to ship breast milk with dry ice; if you need to check it, you could try using a large cooler like this. Make sure you check with your airline ahead of time, though, just to make sure there are no surprises at the airport.If you’re bringing just a few bottles, store them in a small cooler bag with an ice pack, similar to the one I mentioned above. Make sure that the ice pack is frozen solid when you leave for the airport; if it’s not, it might be treated as a liquid and be subjected to additional screening.
Going through the security checkpoint
If you’re carrying on breast milk, be sure to take your milk out when you take out your other liquids, laptop, etc., during the screening process, and make sure you tell the screener that you’re traveling with breast milk and that you have a pump. They will likely examine the milk by x-ray.It’s a good idea to print out the TSA guidelines to bring with you, in case your screener is not familiar with how breast milk is screened.
Hi Carrie,
Thanks again for your detailed email and your support! I literally googled ‘pumping breastmilk offshore’ and your article came up. Like you, I’ve traveled internationally while pumping and have had to get creative. I’ve pumped in lavatories while en route to China (tried to do this while most folks slept and chuckled a bit while reading your article because I very much related to your airplane experience), in shipyard bathrooms in the Netherlands, and in heliport briefing rooms with a locked door and my back turned toward the glass part of the door.
Luckily, my next offshore experience will be domestic. I live in Houston and would fly out of a heliport 2 hours from New Orleans. I’m really glad you brought up the TSA issue. With that in mind, I may just drive to Louisiana so I can control the return of the breast milk.
My biggest concern was water quality and possibly contaminating the milk. I’m not sure yet if I’d be on our new rig or the 30 year old DCV. With that in mind and your advice, I would use bottled water to wash and sterilize in the microwaveable bags. I think I’ll pump directly into the Kiinde bags. I have them on hand but have yet to try them out. One less thing to wash though!
I’m not shy about claiming freezer space as everyone knew I was pregnant and I know I would have the support. I may even be able to swing a microwave and mini fridge in my room, or ship a combo out if I’m on the vessel and not the rig. Space is more limited in the rig’s quarters.
Thank you for your advice, fingers crossed for number two!
Jill
Hello Jill,
I feel humbled that my story was one of the google search results, and flattered you read and enjoyed my post! I am happy that you can relate to the story, but saddened that this situation is all too common to women working away from their babies. When I wrote my article, I wanted to get the word out on how difficult it is to keep your breast milk supply going while on a business trip. A heavily populated, diverse place like an airport should have the basic necessities for breastfeeding women. It is sad our society makes it so difficult for breastfeeding moms, with or without a baby in tow, to keep their supply going or to supply the basic needs of their children in private. I hope as more women enter the workforce, this will change.
Your situation seems incredibly positive for keeping breast milk on board your vessel. If I were in your scenario I would drive from Houston as well, or call the airport prior to travel to ensure you have the "Manager on duty" number to authorize any checked breast milk onto the airplane etc.
My husband and I have traveled through Louis Armstrong Airport many times with checked liquids in a cooler with ice packs. Just make sure the cooler is taped shut so if any contents leak, they will stay in the cooler. Driving seems the less stressful of the two options. The Kiinde breast pump bags are great; I bought a bunch, they’re worth their weight in gold, and less to clean up is great, too! You can also freeze your breast milk in the Medela plastic bottles, which you can pump directly into as well, and warm the milk up from the frozen bottle. I put the frozen breast milk bottle in the bottle warmer - this takes a little more time - screw the baby bottle nipple on, and you’re ready to feed. This avoids the risk of spilling milk all over while trying to pour the warmed frozen milk from the Kiinde bags into a baby bottle for feeding. Just one more option you can use. A refrigerator and a microwave in your cabin would be huge, all amazing benefits! I am so excited and inspired by you!
Please keep in touch and enjoy your little one, motherhood is the best blessing a woman can be gifted.
Carrie
Carrie,
Thanks so much for your input! Your advice makes me more confident about keeping my supply. When I pumped and dumped months worth of milk, I nearly cried a little every time!
My husband previously worked offshore in W. Africa. I talked to him about your experience and he thought your donation idea was incredible!
And Elizabeth, I would love to contribute to Sea Sisters. What a great community for women like us. I may have an idea for a story on the hurdles needed to go offshore in the second trimester of pregnancy. My biggest concern was the helicopter possibly affecting the baby’s hearing. There really isn’t a lot of guidance on this so our family pediatrician referred me to the CDC website and wished me luck! I decided to go, considering pregnant women go on Babymoon helicopter tours. That’s basically the only resource I could find! Baby’s hearing is just fine.
Best,
Jill
I am hugely inspired by the openness and candor with which these women recount their experiences and offer each other support. I have hope and confidence that discussions like this will help countless women in this industry who would like to have children but are bewildered by the looming challenge of traveling and working while pumping milk for their babies back home. Thank you, ladies!
We will check in with Jill soon on her progress in this endeavor!
* To clarify: we do not claim to favor breast milk over formula, or breastfeeding over pumping. Breastfeeding does not come easily to all mothers, and circumstances do not always guarantee that a new parent can provide their own breastmilk to a new baby (think same-sex couples and adoptions, for starters). “Fed is best”, and there are many different ways to go about handling infant nutrition. We just want to support the moms who have been looking everywhere for information on pumping while working offshore, and getting that milk home, but have as yet had no luck. You found us! Welcome! And thanks for reading.
posted by Elizabeth Simenstad
By Captain Claire Lewis
This summer on July 27 and 28th, I had the pleasure of attending Women Offshore’s first event, UNITE, in Houston, Texas. I got to meet some really dynamic people and learned a few new things, plus I got to see Houston for the first time!
Day one began with introductions from everyone in the room, starting with the Women Offshore team. Ally Cedeno, WO’s founder and CEO, is an amazing person who is obviously very passionate about what she does. She has put together a great team to help her run the organization. They come from different backgrounds in the maritime industry, but they all share one common vision: closing the gender gap in maritime.
The rest of us in attendance introduced ourselves one by one. There were about 40 of us, and I was impressed with the diversity represented. While most of us were from the USA, there were women there from The Netherlands, Angola, New Zealand, Canada, and India. There were women of many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Our expertise ranged from offshore rigs to tugboats to shoreside support to harbor pilots. It was inspiring to talk to all these women and learn about how their corner of the industry operates. I, for one, had never before been in the company of so many female mariners. While we were introducing ourselves, we each stated how many years we had working on the water. We added those years together and the final tally was 270!
On the first day, there were panels and sessions on overcoming challenges in the workplace and setting/reaching goals. On the panels, four women told their stories of how and why they got into the maritime industry, where their careers have taken them, and what obstacles they have had to overcome. It was reaffirming to hear all these women talk about the challenges they have faced, because I have faced many of the same ones.
Captain Sherri Hickman, a Houston pilot and all-around badass, gave a presentation on what it’s like on any given day in the life of a maritime pilot. A career in pilotage is often regarded as the pinnacle of the maritime industry – pilots are people who have tons of experience and expertise about a specific area or harbor; they have literally memorized their local charts, light list, and coast pilot. Captain Hickman is no different, and is also energetic, engaging, and hilarious.
On the second day, we learned all about Women Offshore’s new mentorship program. The goal is to pair women with more experience in the industry with other women who are either new to the industry, still in school, or otherwise less experienced. I think it’s a brilliant idea. I never had a female mentor to look up to or ask questions or just vent, and I am excited at the prospect of being that person for someone else. The mentorship program pairs women based on their area of expertise and/or their goals. For example, if a woman signs up to be mentored and wants to be a chief engineer someday, the program pairs her with another woman who has spent many years climbing the ladder in an engineering department, or is perhaps a port engineer or something similar. There are also opportunities for group mentorships, where many women can come together and support each other’s goals. All of this happens online, so we can participate no matter where we are in the world.
There was also a presentation on handling conflict in the workplace. It was a really valuable presentation because we’ve all had conflict issues – whether or not it’s related to our gender.
The one thing I would have liked more of during the conference is time to just talk to the other attendees. I think networking is important, but also simply meeting new people and hearing their stories can be so powerful. More often than not, you’ll find that you know the same people because the maritime industry can be such a small community. I was really impressed by so many of the women there, and I would have loved some more time to get to know them better.
Overall, it was a great experience and I look forward to attending the next Women Offshore event!