The Hindu Business Line : Foreign crew for Indian ships?

IN a move that may see unions and Left parties up in arms, the country's maritime administration is considering a proposal to allow employment of foreign crew on Indian ships.

The proposal has been made by a group of Indian shipping companies as a "temporary" measure to tide over acute manpower shortage in the wake of a recent boom in freight rates and an expansion of national tonnage. These lines have sought permission from the Director General of Shipping to recruit foreign marine officers, particularly from neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The Director General of Shipping convened a meeting of shipping companies on Tuesday to ascertain details of their proposal. "We are examining their suggestion. Going by the details given to us, shipping lines are facing an acute shortage of officers to man their vessels. We have to find a way out to resolve this problem as we cannot allow Indian shipping to suffer," said a senior official in the Directorate General of Shipping.

Currently, there is a shortage of over 500 officers, which may go up as Indian companies are planning to acquire more ships, said a shipping company official. Since there is a shortage of marine officers globally, it is feared that some of the men currently employed in Indian ships will be lured to more lucrative jobs on foreign ships.

In fact, Indian shipping lines have been facing exodus of officers. Though the Indian pay scale is comparable, income tax is a major factor forcing offices to take up foreign jobs, said a company official. Many companies find it difficult to comply with the manning requirements. Port State Control authorities in foreign countries are strict about manning requirements, said the official.

Currently, foreign seafarers are not allowed to work on Indian ships. This is because the Continues Discharge Certificate (CDC), the document essential for seafarers to take up the on-board job, is issued only to Indian nationals. Therefore, Indian CDC rules have to be amended to allow recruitment of foreign nationals, said the head of HR in a leading shipping company. This can done by a Gazette notification, he said.

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