35% increase in employment of India seafarers: Government

The number of Indian seafarers employed on Indian or foreign flag vessels increased by 35 per cent in 2018 on the back of a series of measures taken in the last four years, the Shipping Ministry said on Friday. “The shipping sector has witnessed an unprecedented growth of 35 per cent in the number of Indian seafarers...,” the ministry said in a statement. The number increased to 2,08,799 in 2018 from 1,54,349 in 2017, it said. Along with this, the number of students placed for on-board training also rose from 14,307 in 2017 to 19,545 in 2018, registering a jump of nearly 37 per cent. The growth in the number of Indian seafarers has been possible due to a series of measures taken by the government in the last four years to improve the standards of maritime training, increase on-board training opportunities, improve the examination and certification system and facilitate ease of doing business. The number of seafarers employed on Indian flag vessels increased from 22,103 last year to 27,364 this year, while the employment figures on foreign vessels went up from 60,194 to 72,327 during the same period.