Thembelihle Shangase is busy every day navigating, docking, undocking and shifting vessels safely in and out of narrow or hazardous water channels at the Port of Durban.
Sometimes, it only takes a single moment to alter the course of your life.
For Shangase, that defining moment occurred on a ship in Italy, watching a woman expertly bring the vessel into port.
Today, this 42-year-old mother of two teenagers is living her dream.
Skilfully guiding ships into the harbour, she is one of Transnet’s pilots at the Port of Durban.
“Not only were there very few females in the industry when I started, but I had never seen a female pilot at sea. I remember standing on the ship as a deck cadet, watching her steer the vessel. I was so inspired and I never looked back. I wanted to be just like her.”
Shangase has come a long way from Umlazi, where she grew up in a family of six girls.
After finishing school, she achieved a national diploma in maritime studies at the Durban University of Technology before joining Transnet Dredging Services.
It was here that she was earmarked for the maritime cadet training programme, which she completed in 2006 before returning to Transnet Dredging Services where she continued to work until 2008 when she was appointed as a barge master at Smit Amandla Marine.
In 2012 Shangase returned to Transnet, this time as a student in the tug master training programme, qualifying in 2014.
She worked as a tug master for Transnet National Ports Authority until 2021 when she was offered the opportunity to join the pilot training programme, achieving her pilot licence in January this year.
Shangase admits it has not always been an easy road, particularly as there are still so few female pilots out there, but achieving her goal has made it all worthwhile.
She attributes her success to her confidence and the fact that she loves what she does.
“I take pride in my job. I’ve taught myself to take a lesson from every ship that I pilot – whether I do it well or badly. My strength to remain calm in every situation or challenge has definitely been a bonus.”
What she does is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Being dropped on a vessel from a helicopter out at sea before having to navigate it safely into port requires nerves of steel.
“I think I am good at my job because I am a mom. I treat challenging situations the same way I do my children. I find a way to nurture the situation and find solutions, no matter how small, to make things better for everyone to ultimately achieve good results.
“I never forget to smile and keep a positive attitude.”
She says being focused on one’s goals is just as important. “Through the course of my career I have learnt that it is important to always remain calm and professional. The way people treat you does not change who you are and does not take away that you are a pilot and your services are required.”
She reminds herself daily that she is representing herself, her company and her country.
Her advice to young women is not to walk away from the maritime sector because they may not think it is a place for a woman.
“Nothing is impossible if you really put your mind to it,” she says. “It's important that we prepare ourselves physically and mentally for the challenges that come with these jobs.”
- This article appears in our special Freight Features edition on “Women in Freight.”
