A first for women Port Facility Security Auditors

A pioneering train-the-trainer workshop on Port Facility Security Auditors, the first of its kind specifically for women participants, is taking place at IMO Headquarters (6-10 October).

The training is being attended by 12 women in maritime from Brazil, Djibouti, Ghana, Guatemala, Mauritius, Namibia, Portugal, Türkiye, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, and the United States. It is the first in a series of maritime security training to be rolled out in the coming months to help address the gender imbalance in the sector.

Port Facility Security Auditors evaluate a port's security measures and implementation of IMO's International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, to detect threats and assess compliance with international maritime security standards.

Addressing the participants at the workshop opening, Louise Proctor, Deputy Director for Planning and Programming at the IMO's Technical Cooperation & Implementation Division (TCID)) said: "You are here to learn, but you are also here to inspire. You are here to become trainers, mentors, and multipliers. And through your work, more women will have the chance to join this field, to contribute to maritime security, and to strengthen our collective future."

"More highly trained women means stronger maritime security," added Gisela Vieira, Acting Head of the Maritime Security Section. "Women in maritime security are even more unrepresented than in the maritime world at large, making these training opportunities, in which IMO's maritime security work and the Women in Maritime Programme come together, all the more important."

Click for photos of the workshop, and find out more about IMO's maritime security work and the Women in Maritime Progamme.