Inger Klein Thorhauge (née Olsen) made history in December 2010 when the Cunard Line promoted her to captain of MV Queen Victoria. It was a historic appointment. She was the first woman to command a Cunard ship in the company’s long history. And at 43, she was also one of its youngest captains too.
Peter Shanks, Cunard’s president at the time, said at the time:
While we are far from being the first shipping company to have a female captain, it is nonetheless noteworthy when such a long-established British institution as Cunard makes a break with its captaincy tradition. But as Mark Twain drily observed, “the folks at Cunard wouldn’t appoint Noah himself as captain until he had worked his way up through the ranks.” Inger has certainly done that…and we are delighted to welcome her as our first woman driver.
Since then, Captain Thorhauge has commanded the Queen Elizabeth and the new Queen Anne (in which she served as the build captain). As one of the few women who command cruise ships, she’s an inspiration to women seafarers across the globe.
“…it’s all about how you present yourself and how hard you work.”
Inger Klein Thorhauge was born and raised in the Faroe Islands. Located halfway between Great Britain and Iceland in the North Atlantic, the archipelago has 18 islands and is a Danish territory. The Faroe Islands have a long, proud seafaring tradition, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that the young Inger went to sea.
In an interview with the Telegraph in 2015, Captain Thorhauge said:
As a 16-year-old I worked on cargo ships as a stewardess during the school holidays but I soon realised I didn’t like the cleaning part of that, so I found something different to do on board. My curiosity in seeing the world was a huge driver in my choice of career, combined with the enjoyment of sailing.
She also added in another interview, “I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do.”
Captain Thorhauge eventually studied to become a deck officer in Denmark. She worked hard and learned her trade as a cadet with DFDS Scandinavian Seaways. But originally, it wasn’t an ambition of hers to make a long-term career at sea.
I always thought I’d only be on ships for a few years before settling down to start a family, as one does. But life took me in a different direction. I started to become interested in the cruise industry a few years after I obtained my Masters License, mainly because the ships sailed around the world and my ambition was to travel. I’ve always had the full support of my family and friends.
Thorhauge obtained her Master’s License in 1994, and joined the Cunard Line three years later. She served as a deck officer aboard the Vistafjord (later renamed Caronia) and later transferred to Seabourn in 2001. Thorhauge served on the Seabourn Sun and Seabourn Spirit before being promoted to Staff Captain on the Seabourn Pride in 2003. In August 2010, she returned to Cunard as Deputy Captain of the Queen Victoria. Four months later, Captain Thorhauge took command of the Queen Victoria. As she told the Telegraph:
I strongly believe that as a woman in this line of work, you really decide yourself what obstacles you have to face – it’s all about how you present yourself and how hard you work.
Cunard Captain
Captain Thorhauge was more than prepared to take command of the Queen Victoria. That fact was beyond question. But she was perhaps less prepared for the headlines that her appointment made worldwide. I vividly remember all the news at the time. Captain Thorhauge mentioned:
When I was appointed in 2010 I was taken aback by the overwhelming interest in me as a person that it created, and I found that challenging in every aspect.
But Captain Thorhauge navigated her unexpected fame just as she might sail through a patch of rough weather: with confidence and apparent ease. She has become perhaps the most famous modern Cunard captain, and gathered a following among passengers.
A proud moment came in June 2013 when she brought the Queen Victoria to the Faroe Islands. Captain Thorhauge said at the time:
The undoubted highlight of my career so far was taking command of Queen Victoria in December 2010, thus becoming the first female Captain in the 170-year history of Cunard. That was a thrill I thought would never be overtaken, but I have to say, taking Queen Victoria – ‘my ship’ – home was on a par with first taking command. Not many people have the chance to take a 90,000-ton liner, and a Cunard liner at that, home! It was a proud moment for me and an event I was pleased to share with nearly 3,000 passengers and crew, and thousands more fellow countrymen. Queen Victoria’s passengers have been intrigued to see and hear about the Faroes and I’m so pleased that it was possible to include calls at two of the islands so that our passengers can get more of a sense of what living in such a remote and rugged part of the world is really like.
In 2022, Cunard announced that Captain Thorhauge would be the build captain for their newest ship, the Queen Anne. It was another proud moment for a history making mariner.
“I am very proud to be Cunard’s first female captain,” Captain Thorhauge said, “but to be named as the first captain of Queen Anne is the greatest honor. It means the absolute world to me to be a part of the next chapter of Cunard.”
Captain Thorhauge threw herself into the Queen Anne’s construction. She hosted a web series called the “Captain’s Log” detailing the new ship’s construction. With the Queen Anne ushering in a new era for the Cunard Line, it’s only fitting that Captain Thorhauge be the one on the bridge.
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