The Hindu Business Line : Foreign crew to be allowed on Indian ships

The shipping industry has been seeking the lifting of the ban on employment of foreign crew on board Indian ships for long, in the wake of the flight of experienced Indian marine officers to foreign-flagged vessels because of higher pay packets.

Mumbai April 7

Indian flagged ships may soon sail with foreign crew on board.

In response to a plea by the shipping companies, the Directorate General of Shipping has finally taken a decision to allow ship owners to employ foreign officers on board their vessels, after maintaining the minimum manning requirement for Indian officers. However, the DG-Shipping will be giving approval for employment of foreign officers on a ship-to-ship basis.

Informed sources said the DG-Shipping has sent the proposal to lift the ban on employment of foreign crew on board Indian ships to the Ministry of Shipping, which is expected to issue the necessary notification soon.

Shortage of experienced officers

The shipping industry has been seeking the lifting of this ban for long, in the wake of the flight of experienced Indian marine officers to foreign-flagged vessels because of higher pay packets. "When aviation operators are allowed to employ foreign pilots, why cannot Indian ships employ experienced foreign hands," an industry source pointed out.

According to the sources, what swung the proposal to the favour of the ship owners was the pressure mounted by the oil companies. The PSU oil companies have noted that many of the vessels that bring in their crude did not have adequate experienced hands on board. As this posed a threat to the safety of their oil parcels, the refiners wanted the Shipping Ministry to lift the ban on employment of foreign crew to "meet the experience matrix" of the crew on board the vessels nominated by them.

Good news for GE Shipping

Shipping companies such as Great Eastern Shipping and Varun Shipping have begun to scout for experienced officers from countries that have a surplus of such hands. For Great Eastern Shipping, the DG-Shipping decision comes as an added advantage, as it is the only Indian company having ice-class vessels, while there are no Indian officers having experience in such vessels.

According to sources, the Indian shipping industry at present faces a shortage of between 500 to 700 experienced officers. "Feedback from different parts of the world suggests that Indians are among the most competent officers in the industry and more than 3,000 Indian officers are employed on foreign-flagged vessels," an official of the DG-Shipping pointed out.

The Ministry, cottoning on to the emerging shortage in supply of officers vis-à-vis the rise in demand, has initiated a string of measures to strengthen maritime education and training. In a significant decision, the Government has decided to develop the Indian institutes of maritime studies into a world-class Indian Maritime University, for which an amount of Rs 200 crore was allocated in the last Budget.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) feels that the move to lift the ban on employing foreign officers on board Indian ships will not provide a long-term solution to the problem of shortage of experienced manpower. "India is a labour intensive country, so how can there be shoratage in manpower. The issue here is proper maritime education and training," says Mr. Abdulgani Serang, NUSI General Secretary.

He feels that it was time the issue of manpower in maritime industry was examined holistically. "First, I feel that the examination system should be made more practical and student-friendly. Aspiring seafarers dread to take the exam in India, opting for other countries," he pointed out.

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