Rohit Sharma, a 41-year-old former merchant navy captain, is a much-sought-after man in the world of shipping. He has four years’ experience navigating MS Berge Stahl , one of the longest and largest iron ore carriers in the world. The ship, at 1,122 ft, can fit the Eiffel Tower within its length easily.

This year, he quit the merchant navy despite his employer doing everything to keep him back; Sharma is now his own boss, having started a business.

With each year, more and more highly trained and experienced Indian officers and sailors are quitting the uncertainty of the high seas for a calmer life on shore, like Sharma.

The data on those quitting the seafaring life are still being collated by the Shipping Ministry, but initial trends show that for every 100 officer cadets joining the Merchant Navy, about 25 put in their papers.

The causes

Increasing work pressure, piracy and security restrictions while travelling overseas have resulted in faster exits, creating a manpower crunch at merchant navy shipping companies.

Captain Sunil Thapar, Director of Shipping Corporation of India’s Tanker Division, confirmed the increase in attrition in the merchant navy. “Today, life at sea is not glamorous. Officers make their big bucks and move on to other businesses at a young age. To get good manpower at a senior level is a major problem,” said Thapar.

He revealed that piracy was one of the factors that led good officers to call it quits. The other reason is that the officers get good salaries, helping them accumulate large savings. A captain, for example, makes at least $15,000 a month.

Captain Gurprasad Kohli, Managing Director of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics India, said the merchant shipping sector faces the same problem as the Indian Army — lack of good officers.

“Companies, especially in the logistics space, prefer former merchant navy personnel because they are well-educated, disciplined and show good leadership qualities,” he said.

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