Lobito — The chairman of the Board of Directors of the Port of Lobito, Celso Rosas, on Wednesday here, defended the focus on training women for their empowerment in the maritime sector.

Celso Rosas, who was speaking to the press on the sidelines of a lecture on the International Maritime Women's Day, which is marked today (18), said that this activity is quite complex and difficult, requiring much sacrifice and determination from those who practice it.

"This is why we have been promoting a lot of dialogue and training so that women understand correctly what the demands of their specialty are," he explained.

Nélida Caterça, inspector of the Port of Lobito Authority, spoke of her experience in that activity, referring mainly about the visits to the ships, which involve all the maritime authorities to know if everything, is in conformity with the customs procedures.

She said that although there are currently only two percent of women working in the maritime industry, there is already more openness for them.

"Today we can already see women in charge of ships or in other management positions, a situation which, sometimes ago, was unthinkable because these activities were exclusively for men," she said.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO, the acronym in English) decided to establish the International Day of Women in the Maritime Sector, on 18 May each year, to celebrate women in the maritime industry, promote their recruitment and sustainable employment.