Researchers on the GEM project work in three separate local data collection teams. These teams are based in Nigeria, China and the UK.
Dr Kate Pike
Kate is a senior research fellow at Solent University and an experienced maritime researcher in sustainability and shipping. She currently leads the GEM project, which examines gender issues and seafarer’s welfare arising from multi-cultural crews, with teams in the UK, China and Nigeria.
Kate concurrently project manages the Shipping Awareness Project, an international research programme which examines the extent of public awareness of the shipping industry, with a view to ultimately making positive changes to the perceptions of the industry and thereby increasing the uptake of careers within it.
Kate’s interests have included work for the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature International (WWF), the Hamble Harbour Master and Portsmouth University. As well as being a senior research fellow at Solent University, she also has some teaching commitments on the maritime courses. Her PhD is in marine protection.
Dr Minghua Zhao
Minghua is director of the China Centre (Maritime), part of the Warsash School of Maritime Science and Engineering. Her employment experience also includes deputy director, Greenwich Maritime Institute, University of Greenwich (2004-2015); deputy director, Seafarers International Research Centre, Cardiff University (1998-2004); and research associate with Women Studies Programme, University of Hawaii (1995-1998).
She is an established maritime sociologist with an excellent international reputation in specialist research on maritime policy, especially policy concerning human factors in shipping and fisheries, in particular on issues concerning gender and China. Specifically, Minghua's research covers seafarers’ labour market, their welfare and work and living conditions, employment policy and practice for women seafarers in commercial shipping, women’s participation in fisheries in European and Chinese coastal communities.
Emma Broadhurst
Emma was awarded a BSc Honours degree in Geography with Environmental Studies from Solent University.
She has assisted on a consultancy research project examining the concept of safety culture and its implantation on board, and is currently a research officer on the GEM project, which examines potential issues and barriers faced by both female seafarers and multicultural crews whilst operating on board.
Captain Pengfei Zhang
Pengfei is an experienced Master Mariner with management experience on ships and in port operations. He worked as assistant to the chairman in a shipping group, in charge of legal affairs and shipping business. He also supervised the construction of a 48000DWT training ship for SMU, the largest training ship in the world.
Pengfei is a qualified PRC lawyer and has been a practising maritime lawyer in Shanghai Allbrights Law offices since 2008, specialising in shipbuilding and financing, ship collision and SNP disputes. A PhD candidate of University of Greenwich, his research project is seafarers’ rights protection in China. Pengfei worked for Deirdre Fitzpatrick in SRI as an internship before teaching at Solent University.
Nancy Oluoha
Nancy was awarded a BSc Honours degree in Political Science from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria, and an MSc in Transportation Planning and Management from the University of Lagos, Nigeria.
She is currently undertaking an MA in International Maritime Policy at the University of Greenwich, London and writing a dissertation on ‘Women Seafarers – A Case Study of Nigeria'.
Amos Kuje
Amos is currently a PhD research student with the University of Greenwich on ITF Seafarers trust support. He was awarded and MSc in maritime affairs in 2005 at the World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden; an MSc in transport management technology in 2000 in Federal University of Technology Owerri; and a Post Graduate Diploma in shipping technology from the Maritime Academy of Nigeria Oron in 1997.
He returned to shore after six years working on board vessels in the oil and gas sector, and now has more assigned responsibilities with regard to seafarers' services. In all, he has 18 years' service in the maritime industry, including his current position as the scheduled officer for the implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 in the Maritime Safety Administration in Nigeria, and extensive voluntary contribution with regard to seafarers' welfare where his current research interests lie.
Jianjun Wu
Jianjun Wu is a lecturer from the Merchant Marine College, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, China and he is a marine master. He received his MS degree from Dalian Maritime University and he is doing his PhD program in marine engineering system safety science and technology at Shanghai Maritime University. His research interests include maritime education and training, maritime safety, and environmental management. Recently, he has undertaken research on seafarers' safety related to fire fighting, marine survival, and safe literacy. As the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 took effect in China in August 2013, he studied occupational safety and health of seafarers, such as crews' workload.
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