SMOU General Secretary Ms Mary Liew welcomed and thanked members for their resilience in keeping the global supply chain moving. She also empathised that the pandemic has brought about its own set of obstacles, and applauded them for persevering and taking the challenges head on. Ms Liew also encouraged them to continue pursuing their career in maritime and shared on the SailMAP initiative – an initiative that the Singapore tripartite partners birthed to award incentives to seafarers who attain their career milestones. She closed by saying that SMOU and tripartite partners will always be here rooting and supporting them in this journey. During the lunch, Ms Wan Fei Fei (Assistant Director of MPA Seafarers Management Department), also helped address concerns that seafarers might have, and shared personal stories she has as a former seafarer while out at sea.

The female seafarers had a great time chatting with one another, sharing interesting encounters and how they deal with certain challenges.