South Asia’s first group of female gantry crane operators passes out from SLPA

The first female group of gantry crane operators from South Asia who were trained in the Mahapola Ports and Maritime Academy of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) passed out last week.

The passing out ceremony was held in the Mahapola Ports and Maritime Academy to mark International Women’s Day under the patronage of the Minister of Ports and Shipping Arjuna Ranatunga.

For jobs such as gantry crane operators, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority until recently recruited only males. The Mahapola Training Institute last year as a measure to empower the women employees of the Port initiated a project to recruit and train women employees for physically demanding jobs. Accordingly, the SLPA recruited and trained 12 female employees to operate ship-to-shore gantry cranes at the port.

Deputy Minister of Ports and Shipping Nishantha Mutuhettigama, Secretary of the Ministry of Ports and Shipping L.P. Jayampathy, SLPA Chairman Dammika Ranatunga, President of the World Maritime University Mrs. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry and several other distinguished guests participated in the event.