Elizabeth Marami, Kenya’s first female marine pilot is now the Chief Officer of Celebrity Edge, a cruise ship operated by Celebrity Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group.
In a social media statement, Marami announced that she earned the promotion early this month owing to her determination and proven excellence in marine services.
She however stated that the role gave her the perfect opportunity to continue advancing her career and inspiring other generations.
“August 5th I took over the beautiful Celebrity Edge as chief officer! This promotion was truly an unexpected one and with dry dock coming up I knew a life-changing task lay ahead of me! It was time to bury my head and get to work!” Marami wrote.
“Today, as we refloat, my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude, this has been a life-changing experience and I cannot thank everyone enough who believed In me to trust me with this new position at such a critical time,” she added.
Marami worked for Celebrity Cruises for over four years in different roles before earning her promotion.
In 2022 she made more history after she became a certified UK Chief Officer Unlimited/ master 3000GT. This was after she passed Britain’s coast guard oral exams on Saturday.
Marami became the first Kenyan woman to attain the certification which allows her to serve onboard a cruise ship.
“It’s one of the best days of my life as I passed my UK coast guard orals exam! I achieved a goal I set out to attain 10 years ago but life short-changed me due to employment rejection onboard ships and so I didn’t get the sea service I needed,” wrote Marami on her Instagram.
Marami dedicated her achievement to women who are interested in joining the marine industry, saying that they served as her inspiration too and describing the process as brutal.
“I just want to say, this is for all the Kenyan girls who were inspired to join the profession after hearing my story. You kept me going! This is your win! We may be late to the party as Kenyan female seafarers but the world best be ready for one heck of a show!” said Marami.
