Egypt’s captain Marwa Elselehdar was miles away from canal when accident took place
Egypt’s first female ship’s captain says she became the victim of a fake news campaign blaming her for grounding the Ever Given container ship in the Suez Canal when she was on a ship that was hundreds of miles away.
Marwa Elselehdar was working as a first mate in command of the Aida IV in Alexandria when the 220,000-ton Ever Given got stuck, blocking one of the world’s busiest shipping routes for six days.
“I was shocked,” Elselehdar told BBC. “I felt that I might be targeted maybe because I’m a successful female in this field or because I’m Egyptian, but I’m not sure,” she said.
The 29-year-old is a celebrated figure in Egypt as he became both the youngest and the first female Egyptian captain to navigate the newly-expanded Suez Canal in 2015. She was also honored by the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Women only represent 2 per cent of the world’s seafarers, according to the International Maritime Organization.