Maritime Training Trust to provide scholarships to encourage women seafarers

Maritime Training Trust, jointly run by the government and the local shipping industry, has decided to provide scholarships up to ₹1,00,000 to women seafarers undergoing pre-sea courses at training institutes approved by the Directorate General of Shipping. The scholarship is aimed at encouraging and promoting women to take up seafaring as a career, a DG Shipping official said.

The board of trustees of the Maritime Training Trust has decided to provide scholarship of ₹50,000 for academic year 2018-19 and ₹1,00,000 for 2019-20 per Indian woman seafarer (cadets) to all eligible Indian women seafarers (cadets) undergoing pre-sea course with training institutes approved by the DG Shipping, the official said.

The board of trustees has also decided to provide scholarship of ₹1,00,000 for academic year 2019-20 per Indian woman seafarer (ratings) to all eligible Indian women seafarers undergoing pre-sea rating course with DG Shipping approved training institutes. In this case, scholarship will be given to those women seafarers who have taken admission for rating courses on or after January 1, 2020.

The DG Shipping approved training institutes should have carried out a comprehensive inspection programme (CIP) of the DG Shipping for the academic years 2018-19 and 2019-20.

The Maritime Training Trusts is a charitable trust registered with the Charity Commissioner, Mumbai. The Trust consists of the Director General of Shipping and the Additional Director General of Shipping as ex-officio trustees, two nominees representing the Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) and one trustee nominated by the DG Shipping in consultation with INSA.

“It’s a good gesture to encourage women seafarers,” said Captain C L Dubey, Principal, Mumbai Maritime Training Institute. “This will encourage girls who want to take up seafaring as a career, they will not find the financial strain that much because part of the assistance will be coming from the Maritime Training Trust. In our institute we are giving 25 per cent discount to women enrolling for any pre-sea training courses,” he said.

Eligibility criteria

R S Kabra, chief executive officer of the Maritime Training Trust said that applications received through the DG Shipping approved training institutes where the woman seafaring student is undergoing pre-sea course will only be considered for scholarship.

The training institute has to certify that the woman seafaring student has undergone/is undergoing pre-sea course with them during the academic year 2018-19 and 2019-20. If the woman seafaring student has undergone a pre-sea course with another institute, then the passing certificate of the previous academic year issued by the said training institute should be attached with the application seeking scholarship. Scholarship will not be given if the woman seafaring student has failed in the previous year, Kabra said.

The eligible pre-sea courses for cadets and ratings to avail scholarship are Diploma in Nautical Science, Pre-sea Training for Diploma Mechanical Engineers, B.sc Nautical Science, BE/ B.Tech Marine Engineering, Pre-sea Graduate Mechanical Engineers, Electro Technical Officer, Certificate Course in Maritime Catering, Training for General Purpose Ratings.

In October, the DG Shipping framed a first-of-its-kind guidelines on promoting women seafarers and providing a conducive work atmosphere on-board ships.

Read more:India frames pathbreaking guidelines to push more women into becoming seafarers

The guidelines cover issues such as recruitment and placement of women seafarers, maternity leave and re-joining, basic needs on board for women seafarers, on-board complaints and redressal system to deal with sexual harassment and gender sensitization.

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