Captain Binesh Kumar Tyagi was felicitated for his elevation to the position of Chairman & Managing Director of The Shipping Corporation of India Limited at the Annual General Meeting of CMMI held on Friday, 23^rd September, in Mumbai.

Captain Tyagi took over as CMD on 3^rd September and happens to be the youngest ever CMDs of SCI. He had been heading the Liner & Passenger services as Director since 8^th Jan 2021.

The occasion began with a presentation on Captain Tyagi by the CMMI General Secretary Captain M.P Bhasin that threw light on his journey from the farms of India to leading India’s Navratna shipping company. This was followed by the felicitation of Mrs. Tyagi and Captain Tyagi by various CMMI well-wishers.

Captain Tyagi has indeed had an inspiring journey. He joined the adventurous world of merchant navy in1990. He joined his first ship NS Bose and became a certified officer after completing his training in 1993. After becoming chief officer in 1995 he got command of the oil tanker CHM Piru Singh Shekhavat PVC in the year 2000. He served on various ships such as general cargo and product tankers, and was absorbed ashore in SCI in 2004.

In his initial years, he acquired knowledge by serving various departments ranging from technical, vetting, chartering, and fleet personnel in various ranks. Captain Tyagi is a well-rounded shipping professional with qualifications in shipping operations, navigation, chartering, port management, and management in law. He has also held the position of Principal at SCI Maritime Training Institute, his alma mater.

SEEKING A LEAP IN NUMBERS

Captain Bhasin spoke on how CMMI has strategized an increase in its membership, saying, “The AGM was hugely successful, as everyone applauded the change in the rules of the MOA, as we took feedback of the youngsters and members and incorporated them to make certain amendments.

“To increase our membership, we are doing a campaign ‘Just One’, wherein each member has to introduce at least one new member to CMMI. Also, we have decided to visit training institutes to introduce CMMI to the young nautical trainees, and to help them understand the importance of CMMI in their professional lives.”

Commenting on the appointment of Captain Tyagi he said, “Captain Tyagi is our member, he’s the youngest CMD of SCI, and has been through the journey from being a cadet to being its CMD. There are many challenges in any private sector company like that of disinvestments, challenges of charter rates, they go hand in hand, but we are so proud of captain Tyagi that he will lead SCI, and come out of all challenges with flying colors.”

Commenting on the key tasks before Captain Tyagi, Captain B K Jha, Master, CMMI, said, “Captain Tyagi is a Master Mariner and he knows what the industry is going through. SCI is about to go through a disinvestment process that the government has already declared.

I believe Captain Tyagi should be able to reverse the Government’s order with some out-of-the-box thinking, as none of us would want SCI to get dissolved. Also, SCI is the second line of defense to supply provisions, medical supplies and bunkers to warships, as well as help evacuate Indian citizens trapped in foreign lands during wartime.

“So, I feel that if Captain Tyagi is able to reverse the government order, it would be a great feat.”

Talking about how CMMI plans to increase its member numbers, Captain Jha said, “There are around 10,000 master mariners, but presently under our fold there are only about 3,000 of them. We are trying to increase membership and so we have launched the campaign ‘Just 1’.”

Elaborating on the mentorship program, he said, “We have decided to go to various institutes and have started a mentorship program. This is to address the concerns about poor education and grooming of Indian cadets. We will have one mentor i.e., a Captain who will take two cadets as mentees, who will be mentored till the time they cross the class 2 exam.

“They will be groomed in basic etiquette, culture, behavior, and English speaking, so that they are at par to compete with international marine cadets for employment. The aim is to speed up the employment of Indian cadets in the global marine industry. The decreasing numbers of our seafarers from 11-9% are our concern and we want to contribute to achieving the government’s vision to bring it to 20-22%.”

Commenting on how CMMI can achieve the targeted 20% of Global Seafarers, Captain Rajesh Tandon, Warden CMMI, said, “India is a growing economy and a labor supply provider.”

“Achieving 20% of the global seafarer community is not an impossible dream, and organizations like CMMI have a huge commitment to achieving that target. We have a huge potential to provide qualified marine manpower to the global community. We should be the most preferred choice of global marine employers, not for cost but for the skill advantage.”

Talking about how CMMI takes care of issues concerning the seafarers, Captain K V Pradhan, Deputy Master, CMMI, said: “We are part of various committees in DG shipping and our members cover the entire spectrum of shipping services from shipping & manning companies to training institutes. Even the top persons in DGS are CMMI members. So, if someone needs any assistance, CMMI has a member in place to address them.”

Marex Media