RIYADH: Fatimah Al-Shaikhi’s love for the sea has seen her immerse herself in the maritime industry for Red Sea Global. Al-Shaikhi has a demanding daily schedule as a senior logistic coordinator, but it is all worth it because she gets to work at sea. She spends time at the office and on-site, organizing schedules, supervising operations, and managing boat captains — often traveling between Jeddah, where her family lives, to Umluj for work. The locations include isolated islands but this is hardly a major challenge. “We take great pride in our responsibility of being the Mainland Jetty with a fleet of big vessels. Some vessels are for transporting around 3,000 laborers per day, and some vessels are called landing crafts, which transport heavy materials to each project on each island,” said Al-Shaikhi. One of the goals that she achieved in the marine department was implementing a maritime upskill training program. This program enabled Al-Shaikhi and the rest of her team to hire 44 local boat captains and logistics coordinators from the surrounding communities. She explained that this was not only empowering to their local community but also provided captains with development opportunities both personally and professionally. Born and raised in Jeddah, the Red Sea has always been a part of her life, and she was influenced by her father who once owned a small fleet of speedboats. “I was born in Doga, which is a small town on the shores of Tihamah. It is 20 minutes away from the sea. So, the sea has been part of my life since I was a child. I went with my father fishing, boating and speedboating. “I never thought that I would work this job, yet when I go back to my memories, it is all connected.” Al-Shaikhi swims before work almost every morning and also plays volleyball to keep fit. “Sports are part of my life,” she said.