I was 14 when I first visited my father's offshore workplace. That's when I found my calling
At 23, Ms Tassabell Loh is pursuing the career she's dreamed of since childhood. Working in shipyards across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia gave her a firsthand look at the demanding work that keeps ships and offshore operations running.
The ships on the horizon ất Labrador Nature Reserve are more than a familiar sight to Ms Tassabell Loh, 23, who recalls what sparked her interest in engineering. (Photo: CNA/Ili Mansor)
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I was about 14 the first time my father took me to his place of work: a gigantic floating facility that extracts and processes oil while at sea.
At that age, I never thought much of ships, much less working on them. Like many children my age, I wanted to become a flight attendant or a pilot.
But that visit changed everything.
I still remember staring at my father's "office", an enormous structure rising out of the ocean.
It wasn't just a ship. It was a self-contained city.
There were living quarters, offices, control rooms, workshops, cranes and an endless maze of pipes and equipment, all working together to keep the facility running.
I was fascinated that something so massive could remain at sea for years, carrying out such a complex operation so far from land.
It struck me that the world of engineering could mean building something much bigger, something that literally keeps the world running. And I had this inexplicable desire to be a part of it.
I left that vessel with a clear goal: I wanted to become an engineer.
Suddenly, mathematics and science – already my two best subjects in secondary school – no longer felt like subjects I had to study. They were stepping stones towards making my dream a reality.
My friends found it amusing, since many of them were already leaning towards business or other more popular courses. Despite that, some of them were impressed that I already knew exactly what I wanted to do after graduating.
THE "TOUGHEST FITNESS PROGRAMME" I SIGNED UP FOR
Just last year, I landed an internship with an offshore marine services contractor in Singapore. I spent three months behind the scenes learning operations, followed by five months in the shipyard, where I got my first real taste of the industry's realities.
As I counted down the days to my first internship, I felt a mix of excitement and apprehension. It started to really sink in that I was about to step into a male-dominated industry.
Having studied in mixed-gender environments, I assumed the biggest challenge was working in a male-dominated industry.
I was wrong.
Although I was based in Singapore, my internship took me to shipyards in Malaysia and Indonesia for vessel inspections and testing, where I experienced firsthand just how physically demanding the work could be.
No two days were the same. One day could be spent working through technical documents in the office, while another could involve being onboard a vessel, assisting with inspections, checking equipment against drawings and technical requirements, and recording anything that needed to be rectified.
The work was hands-on. Understanding a problem meant physically going down to the machinery, seeing how everything fitted together and speaking to the people operating it.
Some mornings, getting to work felt like going through an obstacle course when the day had not even begun. Before stepping into the vessel, I'd have to climb over mooring chains larger than myself and move around heavy equipment.
Boarding could mean scrambling up a rope ladder or climbing a pilot ladder alongside the ship. By 8.30am, I'd be drenched in sweat.
Once onboard, I'd be moving between different decks, climbing steep stairways and squeezing through tight spaces, sometimes while carrying equipment in the heat.
The shipyard pushed me in ways I hadn't expected. It often felt like the toughest fitness programme I could have signed up for, and there were days when I wondered if I could keep up.
Rather than let it get the better of me, I started going to the gym three or four times a week to build the strength and endurance needed to handle the intense conditions.
Although the maritime industry is demanding, it's also far more dynamic than I had imagined.
Every day brought a new problem to solve, a different part of the vessel to explore or another opportunity to learn, and I found myself wanting to understand it even better.
FINDING MY BEARINGS IN A MALE-DOMINATED INDUSTRY
Physical demands aside, I can't deny that a workplace overwhelmingly made up of men made me nervous at times.
Across the world, women make up just 2 per cent of seafarers in the maritime industry.
Sometimes, I wondered: Would I be taken seriously? Would people assume I was less capable simply because I was a woman?
As it turned out, that was rarely the case.
Throughout my internship, I found that I didn't have to fight harder for respect simply because I was a woman.
Instead, I found that I had to earn respect the same way my male counterparts did – showing up, asking questions, learning and contributing to the team. What mattered most was a willingness to do the work well.
Perhaps, much of my confidence in navigating this industry came from my father, who is an engineer himself.
Having spent decades in the maritime industry, he had worked alongside many capable female engineers and professionals. Not once did he give me the impression or make it explicit that engineering was "not for girls".
When he realised that I was serious about following a similar path, there was no dramatic conversation about it. To him, it simply made sense.
He was happy that I had found something I genuinely wanted to pursue, and whenever I went to him with questions, he was always willing to share what he knew.
He also taught me that with the right attitude and willingness to work hard, I could perform as well as anyone else.
Looking back, I realise growing up with that mindset was the biggest advantage that my father gave me.
It allowed me to enter the industry focusing less on proving that I belonged and more on learning from those around me.
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
Engineering is far more than completing projects. I now fully appreciate the value of what engineers do – and why their work matters.
They ensure that every system works safely, reliably and exactly as it should.
There is something deeply meaningful about this kind of work. Most people will never see the complexity behind it – and that's precisely the point.
A vessel leaving the shipyard on schedule might seem unremarkable, but behind that departure are engineers and crew who have spent days or weeks thinking about how heavy a piece of equipment is, where that weight is placed, how it affects the vessel's stability, and whether it is installed correctly and functions as intended.
When that work is done well, nobody outside the industry notices it: the vessel simply sails, the project continues and life carries on.
Yet, that quiet reliability is what allows global offshore operations to function, from energy production to subsea infrastructure, supporting essential services that much of the world depends on every day without even realising it.
People often ask whether I am proud to be a woman in a male-dominated industry.
I am. But I don't go to work thinking about being the only woman in the room; I think about becoming a better engineer.
I'll be graduating from university this October. Since that first internship, I've had other stints in the maritime industry, on tugboats and then bigger offshore vessels like the one my father worked on – the kind that first inspired me to pursue engineering when I was 14.
I know I'm still only at the beginning of my career, with much more to learn. But if hearing my story encourages another young woman to consider maritime or engineering, I would be honoured.
When I first stepped on a vessel, I was simply amazed that something so enormous could exist and operate in the middle of the ocean.
Today, I'm no longer just standing on the deck in awe, but getting the inside look at how engineering makes it all possible.
I'm seeing the maritime industry for what it really is: a place for anyone curious and willing enough to solve difficult problems, and who wants to contribute to something bigger than themselves.
Tassabell Loh is graduating in October 2026 with a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering from the Singapore Institute of Technology.
