She's All Aboard!

NICHOLINE TIFUH AZIRH WAS THE FIRST AFRICAN WOMAN BRIDGE OFFICER ON A CRUISE SHIP

- Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

When Nicholine Tifuh Azirh was growing up in Cameroon, she didn’t have the same aspirations as the rest of her friends. She didn’t dream of becoming a teacher or a doctor; she longed to set sail on a ship.

Despite being from Cameroon’s northwest region, which is a long way from its coastal area, Tifuh Azirh still felt the pull of the water and had a strong desire to become a ship’s officer. “My mom wanted me to do medicine, but I wanted something different,” she says. After hearing someone speak about the maritime industry at her secondary school, she knew what it was she wanted to do.