The superstition that a woman on a boat is an accident has been shattered Isidora Jovanovic from Bar, the first female sailor from the city under Rumija to sail on tankers, fulfilling a dream long reserved almost exclusively for men.
On her way from cadet to officer, she had to prove that she belonged at sea almost every day, although in just a few years of sailing she showed that the courage of a sailor does not begin at sea, but in the willingness to fight for justice.
Her story about sailing began spontaneously. She wanted to study at the Faculty of Science, but on the day of enrollment, she went to Kotor with her friends so that some of them could enroll at the Faculty of Maritime Studies there, after which they were supposed to continue to Podgorica for her enrollment.
However, as she recounted in an interview for "Vijesti", she found out about maritime sciences in the very lobby of the Faculty of Maritime Studies and decided, on the spur of the moment, to enroll in them. That study program had what she was interested in - mechanical engineering, mathematics... Today she knows that it was the right decision, not a hasty one, because she chose applied maritime sciences, which provide opportunities at sea and on land.
After completing her undergraduate studies, where she excelled as one of the best students, and her brevet (certificates for working on a ship), there was the possibility of eventually going aboard a ship, but she gave up on that idea and enrolled in master's studies.
However, that decision was interrupted by a call in June after the coronavirus pandemic, when it was difficult for all seafarers to board, the situation in the industry was uncertain, and everyone was waiting for that very call.
As Jovanović explained, she was called by an agency in Bar, asked for confirmation that she had completed her maritime studies, and asked if she would like to sail and complete her cadetship on a ship - on a tanker. Without much thought, her answer was - "yes", and so her first voyage took place.
The 28-year-old interviewee recounts that the call came as a surprise, but it also turned out to be fateful. She received training in specific cargo and working on tankers, after which she went to the United States and from there sailed across the ocean.
Her family was not surprised by her choice, although, she says, her mother suggested that she would be better off studying maritime management, which would tie her to the mainland, and she was afraid of her daughter's idea because no one in their family had sailed. Although her brother had been waiting for that call for a long time, she was the first. Both in the family and in the city.
"I fell so in love with this industry. We all have this ideal of the sea, especially those of us from the coast, but this way you especially love it, you merge with that force," she said.
Her parents were also scared when she told them she would be sailing on a tanker, but they accompanied her on the journey with all their support.
Recalling her first day on the ship, which began in Boston, her first association is cold. She also remembers the captain's arrogance, which she even liked at the time.
"I felt like I was in the right place. I felt like there was justice. I came as a cadet and everything was unfamiliar to me. I only knew how to recognize the pump. And the ladders I was climbing were scary, steep, shorter than my feet. The first thing the captain asked me was to see my nails and he was satisfied and only then introduced himself," she recalls.
She was the only woman on that ship and it was a kind of “baptism of fire” that particularly affected her when she climbed onto the bridge and saw, as she describes it, “a thousand buttons” on a twenty-meter-long bridge. She quickly overcame her initial fear because after just a few days she knew what each button was for.
"I think every sailor will never forget the feeling of their first day on board and standing on deck," she said.
She completed her cadetship in two voyages, after which she sailed as a third officer. On that journey, she had numerous duties and tasks - from physical to management and navigational. In shifts, she kept watch on the bridge, or in layman's terms - steered the ship, after which she went on deck to maintain it, treat water rust, and then polish, paint...
"I actually liked physical work the most because it was something I had never done, nor held those tools in my hands: a grinder, a pickaxe... The busier you are, the less you think. When you have more free time, it becomes much more difficult," said Jovanović, adding that there were days when those jobs could not be done because of the storm.
Woman as (mis)happiness on a ship
In an interview with "Vijesti", Jovanović said that there are many advantages and disadvantages to working on a ship. The first advantage, she says, is that she practically lives at her workplace and can be there for a very short time after waking up. She was tired of being constantly in that facility.
She points out that seafarers cannot expect to find a mate on board, or that the cliché that "they are not colleagues, but family" will come to life, but that cooperation with the crew can be one of the advantages, because she has met many people, different people, and through that she has learned many valuable lessons.
She cites the distance as the first "minus" of sailing, and says that what she missed more than her country was freedom.
"I miss my mother, my father, my brother, but what I missed the most was freedom. Being able to go out whenever I wanted and not being under pressure 24/7. Speed, jumping, discipline - these are the settings I have to put myself in for those few months and, after a while, I just have to get out of them."
There is still some kind of satisfaction, she adds, especially when the salary comes in, but she emphasizes that it's not everything because that money is also "well earned."
Speaking about psychological pressures, she states that both internal and external monologues are common on the ship and that there she discovered depths of herself that she didn't even know she had, which can sometimes be enlightening and sometimes frightening. In all of this, she emphasizes, work is healing and what keeps a person sane.
When asked if she ever felt the need to prove herself further because she was a woman, she replied that, in the beginning, she had to do it every day and in all segments of her work. Her male colleagues were negative, even some captains, especially the older ones.
In addition to the bad energy among the crews, which were the only women on board, there was also superstition, as there was a tradition that a woman on board was bad luck, which some of them took literally.
"If you make a mistake, and you've been shining so far, your mistake will be the end of the world. It's presented as if there's going to be an explosion on the ship. If he makes a mistake, it's completely normal because it happens to everyone, it just shouldn't happen to me," she illustrated, adding that she constantly had to defend herself because her mistake would be "the size of the sea," while theirs would be negligible.
It wasn't easy to even get praise from the captain, she points out, even after brilliant inspections and kind words from supervisors, while her colleagues around her were mostly lavish with words of praise for their everyday tasks.
That changed when she later sailed on ships with a female crew, but the path to that was paved with gender stereotypes and pre-established prejudices. She says women are much more organized, thorough, and responsible on board, especially with paperwork and the smallest details.
Fighting harassment
The fact that the position of women in male-dominated industries is never easy is shown by the case of Jovanović, who will remember her first contract as an adult seafarer for the harassment she received from the captain, but also for the pride she felt in the fact that she managed to deal with it. As she told the newspaper, shortly after the start of the voyage and her introduction to the captain, he began to behave in a way that she considered inappropriate - he wrote her inappropriate and unwanted messages, called her, tried to isolate her and meet with her alone, even though she had repeatedly stated that she did not want to, interrupted her in her work...
She recalls that her colleagues knew what she was going through and were sometimes supportive, but that in most cases it was a reason for ridicule, even though five of her compatriots were on board.
She then wrote to the headquarters of the company she was sailing for from the ship and received, as she claims, only a declarative email without an epilogue. At that moment, Jovanović just wanted the voyage to end, but she did not want to give up on justice, believing that this man was a threat to all others who would come after her.
During the next boarding with the same company and the ship being repaired, she met a high-ranking official from the company she was sailing with. He asked how satisfied she was and what her experience had been, especially since she was a woman.
Jovanović thought he was aware of the situation, so she started the conversation that way, which surprised him. She introduced him to her case, showing him evidence, and she had witnesses to back up her claims.
Immediately after that conversation, she says that an internal investigation was launched and it was determined that she was telling the truth, and that she was not the only one to whom this happened with the aforementioned captain, after which he was fired from that company even before the ship sailed, and another captain took his place.
"Well, I will remember that in particular. It's devastating that my first association with the ship is so negative, but it's also positive at the same time because I will remember that feeling of victory because I reported it, because they believed me, and because the truth came out and, so to speak, justice was achieved," Jovanović told the editorial staff.
She concluded that she felt additional fear because she was on the same boat, in a closed space, with a man who was actively harassing her, but that all of this was an additional reason not to remain silent.
She felt particularly pleased when, during that voyage, she received an email from the company stating that he had been permanently suspended from that job, with words of assurance that they would take care of her safety and the message that she was always wanted on their ships.
She is currently on land, employed at the "Port of Bar", and is considering her next maritime engagement to be on a cruise ship, as she would like to have that experience in her professional book, convinced that it is completely different from sailing on tankers.
Things are getting better, but there is still work to be done in Montenegro
In the few years she has been sailing, Jovanović has seen that the situation for women in the maritime profession has improved - they have support on board, there are more and more women on the crew, and some companies specifically encourage women to join them.
The place where he sees room for improvement is Montenegro, which he says must work more actively and thoughtfully on maritime development by investing in port infrastructure, shipping and maritime companies, and education.
"We need to embrace the sea that we have and use it. As much for leisure as for the economy," she said, adding that it is important to raise awareness about seafaring in Montenegro and nurture it as a tradition, and not just deal with platitudes and stories told.
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