A passion for shipping – 20 years on

FROM RECEPTIONIST to branch manager – that
is the route taken by Mediterranean Shipping
Company (MSC) East London head Barbara
Taylor.
“When I started MSC was a two-man show in
East London under Owen Diemer. There wasn’t
that much to keep me busy as a receptionist
and as I couldn’t just sit there, I started doing
manifests and bills of lading.
“Then, early in the ‘90s it became very
quiet and various people came and left while I
worked up to my present position," says the East
London-born mother of two.
Now, 20 years on, Taylor says she still loves
coming to work. "There is always something
different.”
Fuelling her enthusiasm is a commitment to
continue learning. In 2006 she passed her Liner
Trade course at the MSC Maritime School.
“It was nerve-wracking at 40-something to
start studying again, but it was worth it and I
will continue,” she says.
Taylor also encourages her staff to continue
their studies in order to enrich their own lives
and to provide better levels of service to their
customers.