The Hindu Business Line : SCI may call off tender for fleet managers

Alternative measures
SCI plans to approach the maritime authorities to get DOC conditions relaxed and also to seek permission to hire foreign nationals on a select basis.

Shubhra Tandon N.K. Kurup

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Mumbai, Feb. 24 The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) may call off the global tender it had floated for placing around 30 of its vessels under a private manning and management contract.

The tender, which was part of SCI’s strategy to tide over the manpower crisis, evoked very poor response with only two parties responding to it, said Mr S. Hajara, Chairman and Managing Director, SCI. International ship managers were not very comfortable with some of the tender conditions, he said.

“We had floated the tender in the hope of getting the world’s best fleet managers to respond, which has not been the case. We don’t want to give our ships to any small or fly-by-night fleet manager. We will give them only to the best in the world, if we have to give,” Mr Hajara told Business Line.

Fleet managers worldwide feel that the Indian Document of Compliance (DOC) and the rules of the Indian flag administrator are much more stringent than that of many other state flags. They find getting officers under such restrictions very difficult, he said.

Faced with acute shortage of marine officers, SCI had decided to give out 15 tankers and 15 bulk carriers to a private agency for management. The entire management of the vessels, including employment of on-board crew and officers, will be the responsibility of the ship manager.

As per the Indian Maritime Law, only seafarers of Indian origin can serve on Indian flag carriers. This has come in the way of hiring other nationals, leaving Indian companies with limited option to resolve their manpower problems.

SCI now plans to approach the maritime authorities to get DOC conditions relaxed and also to seek permission to hire foreign nationals on a select basis.

In case this tender is scrapped, Mr Hajara said “some discussions would have to be undertaken with the Director-General of Shipping for easing some of the rules and regulations in DOC”.

Employees’ opposition

The employees unions have been opposing the SCI move alleging that it would render many employees jobless.

“This is just the beginning, today they want to give out 30 ships, tomorrow they would want all to go, leaving us with no jobs,” said Mr Kiran Pulekar, General Secretary, Shipping Corporation of India Staff Union.

However, Mr Hajara said that the company has no plans of giving all the ships for manning and management contract. “These 30 were calculated on the basis of the number of permanent officers we have. We should be able to man the remaining ships once these 30 vessels are outsourced for manning and management.”

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