Seafarer Sophia Walker has shone a glaring spotlight on the barriers still facing women in their pursuit of careers in shipping.

As TradeWinds reported earlier this year, she took on Wallem Ship Management in court after, as a cadet, she was told the company did not employ “girls” on its vessels.

She lost not on the merits of the case but on a technicality; the egregious circumstances for her rejection for a job were admitted, but UK law was found not to protect seafarers on foreign-flag vessels.