How Romeeta Bundela navigated gender bias to build a career in merchant navy

Romeeta Bundela stepped aboard her first vessel, a cargo ship by Maersk, a Danish shipping and logistics company, in 2017.

Wearing her boiler suit, she was the only female Electro-Technical Officer (ETO) in a team of 20 men. Her excitement and pride were touching the skies, but were soon met with her manager’s apprehensions.

“I have not seen any woman at this rank. Are you sure you can manage? We are still at the port, if you want, you can sign off,” her manager said.

Bundela was left disappointed and demotivated.

“I had not even kept my bags down and this was the first thing I heard. It did feel disheartening, but the Merchant Navy has been a male-dominated field and he had never seen a woman in my role. I am glad I was able to change his mindset a bit,” she tells HerStory.

The four-month voyage across international waters was challenging for Bundela, but she came out victorious. Since then, there has been no looking back.

Today, the 29-year-old engineer serves as the second Electro-Technical Officer (ETO) at Carnival UK, a cruise ship. She claims to be the first Indian woman ETO at Maersk.

In her role, Bundela oversees all electrical systems, power management, control and automation systems, marine and deck safety equipment, electronic equipments, and lighting.

The chosen path

Born and brought up in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, Bundela always wanted to join the Indian Navy. But due to her weak eyesight, she could not fulfil her dream.

“I wanted to be on a ship for as long as I can remember. When I couldn’t get into the Navy, I knew I had to find something else,” she explains, adding, “I wanted something unique and challenging, not a typical 9-to-5 job.”

Bundela’s uncle, who was in the Army, suggested her to try the Merchant Navy. Through her research, she got to know about the position of ETO.

Being an electrical engineer, it seemed to be a perfect choice for Bundela. She pursued a four-month ETO course at the Tolani Maritime Institute in Pune in 2017.

“I was the only woman among 40 other students and the first-ever female ETO cadet at Tolani. From there, I was mentally and emotionally prepared to step into this field and face the challenges it could pose for me as a woman,” she adds.

Through her campus placement, Bundela soon started her career on a Maersk cargo ship.

She shares that one of her toughest voyage was during the pandemic. She was stuck at sea near the China border for over nine months due to flight cancellations.

“The area where cargo is kept, the temperature is already very high. In that we had to wear PPE kits and masks. It was a mentally and physically exhausting time as in these harsh conditions we had to work along with taking all the precautions,” she adds.

“More so as sea farers homesickness is quite common, but it does settle down in a few days. But this duration was extremely tough as we were away from our families for so long, especially at this crucial time,” she continues.

Bundela worked on cargo ships for five years before transitioning to cruise ships in 2023.

She explains that working on a cruise ship is a different experience.

“The team is larger, and the way we work is a bit different,” she says, adding, “Although there are many women on board, the technical department still has very few.”

“Additionally, with more passengers on a cruise ship, we have to be extremely careful in our work to ensure their safety,” she adds.

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The difficult road

From the get-go, Bundela’s career has been full of challenges.

Recalling her first journey, she says, her manager used to closely monitor her work.

She shares a specific instance, which was an emergency generator test, and her manager kept questioning whether she was doing it correctly and if she was sure she could handle the task.

On another occasion, her manager switched her duties with another man without informing her.

“I was responsible for testing the safety breach equipment, but he assigned the job to someone else without telling me. It was after this incident that I confronted him, and he never did it again.”

Bundela says that although she hasn’t faced this issue on other voyages, the acceptance of female officers remains a challenge.

This comes from lack of women’s participation in this field, she believes.

She reasons that this scarcity stems from a lack of awareness among people, who may not realise that women can opt and excel in these roles as well.

Moreover, she explains that many companies still avoid hiring women, holding the belief that the job is better suited for men due to its physical and mental challenges.

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“In Indian society, not all families offer the necessary support to women, and as a result women are demotivated to opt for such male dominated fields,” she adds.

She also notes that marriage has been a topic of concern, especially from relatives back home who ask how she will maintain a work-life balance. “But I just ignore it,” she says with a smile.

Bundela is very active on social media, where she shares content about her work and raises awareness about her job. She aims to educate and inspire other women about the opportunities in the field.

Advising aspiring women seafarers, she says, “I wish for more women to join this field. I also hope to grow further in my career and change mindsets, inspiring more women along the way.”