Posted on May 20, 2026
Hapag-Lloyd is launching its new Shefarer Program to sustainably increase the proportion of women in the maritime industry. Together with its partners Jebsen PTC, Anglo-Eastern Ship Management (Germany) GmbH and Marlow Navigation Co. Ltd, the company has agreed on measures to attract more women to careers at sea and to provide targeted support for their development on board.
A key element of the program is the promotion of young talent. Going forward, at least 20 percent of new trainee intakes are to be female cadets. This target will also apply to the international crew pipeline, particularly for young Filipino talent.
Another important component of the program is the introduction of selected Shefarer vessels. On these vessels, several women seafarers will be deployed together across different functions and ranks. The aim is to ensure that women on board are not perceived as exceptions, but as a natural part of the crew – whether as cadets, officers, engineers, oilers or captains. In addition, Hapag-Lloyd is investing in separate changing rooms, showers and toilets on all newbuildings that will enter service over the coming years, further improving the working and living environment for women at sea.
“With the Shefarer Program, we are creating concrete structures to help more women enter the maritime industry and build long-term careers at sea,” said Silke Lehmköster, Managing Director Fleet at Hapag-Lloyd. “Mixed crews strengthen communication, collaboration and mutual respect on board. Our goal is to increase the visibility of women at sea and to create more career opportunities for them across our fleet.”
Women currently account for 5.71 percent of Hapag-Lloyd’s crew. In addition, four women captains are currently sailing for Hapag-Lloyd, representing 4.6 percent of the company’s captains.
The Shefarer Program is part of Hapag-Lloyd’s long-term strategy to make maritime careers more attractive and visible while attracting qualified young talent to the industry.
About Hapag-Lloyd
With a fleet of 302 modern container ships and a total transport capacity of 2.5 million TEU, Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world’s leading liner shipping companies. In the Liner Shipping segment, the Company has 15,200 employees and 400 offices in 140 countries. Hapag-Lloyd has a container capacity of 3.6 million TEU – including one of the largest and most modern fleets of reefer containers. A total of 133 liner services worldwide ensure fast and reliable connections between 600 ports on all the continents. In the Terminal & Infrastructure segment, Hapag-Lloyd has equity stakes in 24 marine terminals in Europe, Latin America, the United States, India and North Africa. 4,400 employees are assigned to the Terminal & Infrastructure segment and provide complementary logistics services at selected locations in addition to the terminal activities.
