Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 09:06am on 27 Aug 2025,Wednesday International
Sonali Banerjee became India’s first woman maritime engineer in 1999, breaking into the male-dominated seafaring industry. Inspired by her uncles in the merchant navy, she joined the Marine Engineering Research Institute (MERI) in Kolkata despite skepticism from family and peers. Among 1,500 cadets, she was the only woman and faced many challenges, including proving her competence at sea. After completing rigorous training in Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Hong Kong, Fiji, and Australia, she officially took charge of a ship’s machine room in 2001. Sonali’s journey inspired many Indian women to pursue careers in maritime engineering and seafaring. (PC: The better India)
