Marina Zanotto As a nautical officer’s assistant, she takes part in everyday safety routines on board.
When your first name already means “she who comes from the sea,” your choice of profession is fairly obvious. Marina Zanotto is studying nautical science in Bremen and currently bound for South America on the “Guayaquil Express” to complete her third voyage as a nautical officer’s assistant (NOA). Here, she explains why she switched career paths, what she enjoys most about being on board, and how she finds little treasures in her free time.
Now that’s loud! Anyone entering the engine room of a container ship at sea should wear hearing protection. Since the pounding of the engines drowns everything out, holding an interview here would only be possible if you were shouting. Marina Zanotto, a 27-year-old nautical officer’s assistant (NOA) at Hapag-Lloyd, has more important things to do anyway. Around 15 freshly serviced fire extinguishers, each weighing 12 kilograms, have to be placed in various places, including near the main engine, the separators, on the lower level, and in the workshop. “It’s quite a workout,” Zanotto later says in the officers’ mess. “You really build some muscles.”
From Bremen’s Weser to an international career at sea
Born in Bremen, she is studying “International Ship Management – Nautical Sciences” in her hometown at the Hochschule Bremen Center of Maritime Studies. She hopes to use this all-English course of study to launch her career as an officer on board. “I actually trained as an industrial clerk and completed my apprenticeship at Georg Gleistein, Bremen’s oldest rope manufacturer – so I know my way around ropes. Maybe that was the common thread that led me to shipping,” she says with a laugh, adding: “But after I graduated, I still didn’t think I’d found the right thing yet.” Zanotto did some online research and came across the nautical studies course. The mix of theory and a large amount of hands-on, practical learning was just right for the proud owner of a pleasure craft license. “Water has always had a magical pull on me, and I love sailing around on the Weser at home,” she says, referring to river that flows through Bremen.
Painting is part of the job: Marina Zanotto and her colleagues keep the “Guayaquil Express” in good shape.
Zanotto grew up in the so-called “Viertel” (literally “quarter”) in the eastern part of Bremen’s old town, which lies directly on the Weser. Her father, Giuseppe, came to Germany from a small town near Venice in the early 1990s and met his wife, Martina, there. For over 30 years, the two have been running their ice cream parlor “Panciera”. “My parents were surprised when I told them that I wanted to study and go to sea,” Zanotto recalls.
“On the other hand, they know me: When I want to do something, I do it!”
After her first semester, Zanotto applied to Hapag-Lloyd and landed on the “Chicago Express,” a training vessel, in 2023. “With 13 cadets on board, you have to make sure you have something to do, as everyone wants to gain as much experience as possible!” she says. As eventful as the first voyage, from Barcelona to North America, was – with the shore leave in New York, swimming on the beach in Miami, and working together – she enjoyed even more the second voyage on the “Linah”, a 368-meter-long container ship of the shipping company UASC, which Hapag-Lloyd acquired in 2017. “There were only two of us as NOAs,” she says. “Bridge time and navigation, maintenance work on deck and in the engine room, plus all the safety checks on the equipment – from the hoses in the engine room to the defibrillator in the hospital – I was able to get involved everywhere and learned an incredible amount.”
Of everything, she was particularly fascinated by the bridge. “When you stand at the console and this unique view of the sea spreads out in front of you, it’s really exhilarating,” she explains. “Plus, there were all the buttons, levers and lights. I had no idea about their functions at first, but I quickly familiarized myself with them with the manual!"
Fully equipped in the canteen
An emergency drill is scheduled in the afternoon on the “Guayaquil Express.” In the canteen, Zanotto and Ida Lorenschatt, an apprentice ship mechanic, are supposed to demonstrate to the entire crew how to put on firefighting equipment. Both of them get into their huge and heavy firefighting suits and clunky safety boots before putting flame-protection hoods and helmets on their heads. The officer of the watch helps them put on their oxygen masks, the 15-kilogram compressed-air breathing apparatus and the radio equipment. Then it’s time to fasten the safety belt, grab an axe – and they’re ready to go! Now the fire hoses could go on deck or into the engine room, depending on where the fire is. Luckily, this is only a drill.
Zanotto says,
“You can’t call the fire department if there’s a fire on the high seas. We have to do everything ourselves.”
When asked how it feels to be one of only two women working on board, she answers: “I don’t really have any problems with that, as the crew is nice and we all get along. Even though women are still outnumbered on board, there are more and more of us!”
Nowadays it’s not as hard to stay in contact on high seas.
Finding treasures around the world
Zanotto keeps in regular contact with her friends. “Since we know that we have reception everywhere thanks to the rollout of Starlink, we can send each other messages or make video calls,” she explains. “I think our generation ticks differently than previous ones anyway. Many of us did an exchange year while in high school or are now studying abroad, so we’re used to longer gaps between talking.”
When she’s back home in Bremen, Zanotto sometimes helps her parents out in their ice cream parlor (where she particularly recommends the pistachio and mango flavors). But her favorite thing to do is get on her trekking bike and go on long bike rides. “And I like to go geocaching in other cities with my best friend,” she adds. “It’s a kind of treasure hunt where you use GPS data to find hiding places with little boxes containing a logbook and small items. We were recently in Berlin, which is a great way to get to know the city.”
Over the next few weeks, Zanotto will be exploring the west coast of South America on the “Guayaquil Express”. And there’s geocaching there, too!
Marina is looking forward to building her future at sea, one voyage at a time.
What’s Marina Zanotto doing today?
After her time on board with Hapag-Lloyd, Zanotto has returned to student life. She sends a message via WhatsApp: “After a wonderful vacation in Sardinia and a few road trips, l’m continuing my nautical studies in Bremen. In the summer, I helped out at our ice cream parlor. Starting in October, I’ll probably look for another part-time job in an office. l’m happy for my future to continue like this. At the moment, I think it would be pretty cool to have a chance to sail on a research vessel at some point in the future. Life on board with so many scientists has to be exciting!”
Photos by: Thies Rätzke Images
Text by: Ulrike Fischer
Discover more of our Logbook stories
You Can’t Bargain with the Sea
How Captain Henning Dost is guiding the “Hamburg Express” through storms and drills.
Holding Course
Through detours, delays, and determination - Captain Robert Fronczak's path to new horizons and solid ground.
A Quest for Quality
Join Luise Jacobs and Pia Dabelstein by unveiling the secret of quality and technology at Hapag-Lloyd.
A Team Stronger than Steel
On an island in the Korean Strait, a skilled international team built a new generation of gigantic container ships.
Marvels of Engineering
Step aboard one of our new Hamburg Express Class vessels and experience a new standard at sea.
Underway
From rickshaws to regional trains—these stories show how our colleagues around the world make their way to work, one commute at a time.
"A Clean Ship is a Happy Ship"
How grooming technology is literally shaving emissions off Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet – keeping it clean and green.
On Art and the Algorithm of Happiness
Following the unique route of Ijeoma Nwoke from Lagos, via Aberdeen to Hapag-Lloyd in Hamburg.