Director General’s ‘16 Deliverables’ Stand Out as Firm Commitment to Wellbeing of Seafarers and Industry

A Seminar on the very contemporaneous topic of ‘Navigating Wellbeing at Sea: Understanding & Coping with Stress’ was organised recently by the Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI), with support from the International Transport Worker Federation (ITF).
Held in Mumbai on the 14th of Oct 23, it was presided over by the Director General of Shipping, Mr, Shyam Jagannathan, IAS, who in his inimitable style brought out the many ‘Deliverables’, as opposed to the nebulous commitments many industry leaders, past & present, are prone to dishing out at conferences.
Jagannathan clearly spelt out the following:
Deliverable 1: Vide order dated August 2023 a Crisis Management Group has been constituted and DDG ( Crew Division) every week reviews cases where there is an urgent need to handle cases where seafarers are in distress and we have had small success. I would request one and all to applaud the efforts of Shri Ashish Sinha Ji and team in successfully ensuring the safe return home of 23 sea farers after close to over six months of being held up in MT Advantage Sweet in Iran. This effort was after persistent and repeated negotiations including show causing the RPSL and finally the results were to a great satisfaction to the Crisis Management Group team. This engagement shall be further deepened and institutionally made vibrant and responsive globally by the D.G ( Shipping)
Deliverable 2: Comprehensive Grievance Redressal system for Seafarers with integrated call centre D.G ( Shipping) is revamping the grievance redressal system presently functional and there shall be a comprehensive grievance redressal system that shall address issues raised by seafarers on a time line and shall function in a transparent manner thereof.
Deliverable 3: Immediate efforts to streamline the RPSL module on the existing website of D.G (Shipping) is presently underway to avoid issues of grievance arising thereof and this is reflected in the Maritime India Vision, 2023 too
Deliverable 4: Major Examination Reform which will ensure no human intervention or ambiguities to emerge in the seafarer post training certifications as per the STCW. This is a major initiative and intends to cover not only the written and oral examination for the certificate of competency but also the online objective module examinations and the examinations for the ratings too. This will ensure that all Maritime Training Institute comply with the standardized examination system without exception, immediately ensuring that the training standards are improved in terms of quality and output.
Deliverable 5: Streamlining the shore leave issue – this is an ongoing process and D.G ( Shipping) shall be making steps in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the office of the Immigration officials with cooperation of all concerned. Capt Gajanan Karanjikar ji and others have been spearheading this and Shri Ashish Sinha Ji is coordinating the official interactions.
Deliverable 6: We are in consultation with the IPA for the implementation of the National Logistics Portal (Marine) which will be the maritime single window. Capt Nitin Mukesh ji is working in close coordination along with PO, MMD, Mumbai and the Technical adviser, Mumbai port authority. The approach is to institutionalize PANS (Prior Arrival Notification System) where each vessel arrival is taken up and the just in time turn around ensured. For the Just in time we are also proposing a pilot under the IMO green voyage 2050 with the assistance from IMO and Norway and we shall implement this in Mumbai Port on pilot basis or in JNPA with the port authority. The Just in time will ensure the port arrival is not stressful and is efficient and risk free.
Deliverable 7: Shore facilities shall be improved after due engagement with the port authorities and taking up the necessary projects along with the Port Welfare Committee that will include representation from the MMD of the concerned port and this shall be taken up in a transparent manner in consultation with the Ports and the MMDs and Seafarers associations.
Deliverable 8: To improve health and stress management a major initiative is being launched in the Global Maritime India Summit, 2023 under the effort of ‘Sagar mey Yoga’ wherein in partnership with the world’s oldest Yoga institute called the Yoga institute – the Directorate General of Shipping shall 7 evolve proper structured curriculum for incorporating Yoga as an element both in Maritime Training Institutes and also on board and on shore to ensure wellbeing of the sea farer.
Deliverable 9: An initiative to increase the number of women seafarers in India is being launched in the Global Maritime India Summit, 2023 under the banner of “Sagar mey Samman” – Honour at sea which aims to provide for greater enrolment of women seafarers and gender equity and inclusion. A separate detailing of the same is herein under. SAGAR MEY SAMMAN – “Honour at Sea” : Charting a course towards an Gender Inclusive Future for Indian Maritime Secto Objective – “ SAGAR MEY SAMMAN- Honour at SEA – Charting a course towards an inclusive future” – championing the role of women seafarers in India Shipping and the stakeholder universe of Maritime scenario – from academia, policy framework, industry, training institutes, media – all congregating around the clarion call of “SAGAR MEY SAMMAN – Honour at Sea” –to encourage more women seafarers to pursue successful careers at sea.
Globally in September 2015, Governments united behind an ambitious agenda that features 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets that aim to end poverty, combat inequalities and promote prosperity while protecting the environment by 2030. It is very concerning to note that amid the intersecting crises of COVID-19, the climate emergency, and rising economic and political insecurity in the midst of the Russia- Ukraine conflict gender equality is facing serious challenges in moving forward. To be realistic, globally the situation is such that The Sustainable Development Goal 5 – centered on Gender Equality & Goal 8 – Decent work and economic grow point out serious concerns – for instance – “Globally, the labour force participation rate among prime working age women (aged 25-54) stands at 63% compared to 94% among their male counterpart. Further, the global gender pay gap is 23%. Gender parity is still a challenge – for India ranks 127th in the World Economic Forum global rankings. The report reveals that India has achieved parity in enrolment across all levels of education, a significant achievement, however, the country is falling short in economic participation and opportunity. -In terms of political empowerment, India has made strides with a parity rate of 25.3 percent. Notably, women now represent 15.1 percent of parliamentarians.
The pathbreaking legislation of the historic Constitution (106th Amendment) introduced in the new Parliament Complex as the first legislation to be tabled as the Nari Shakti Vandan Ashiniyam ( Salutation to Women Power Bill) is a glowing testament to the Nation’s commitment to gender equity and parity. It is heartening to note that Indian women have always been in the forefront in all spheres of progress and today constitute a share of 48 percent of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) graduates.
India has made significant progress in promoting gender equality and has a value of 0.490 on the Gender Inequality Index (GII) and the Economic Survey 2022-23 has highlighted the performance of the Government’s policies with key initiatives like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), Mahila Shakti Kendra (MSK), Working women Hostel (WWH), Scheme for Adolescent Girls, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana 8 India is in the top 5 (five) maritime nations in terms of trained seafarers. Although Indian seafarers numbers witnessed a growth of employed seafarers from 1.17 lakh in 2014-15 to 2.58 lakh in 2022 -23 ( a percentage rise of 121 %) while specifically – the growth of women seafarers from just 345 in 2014-15 to 3327 in 2022-23 ( a rise of 909%) – however at present, women have only 0.5 % share in onboard seafarers in India. The Maritime India Vision 2030 document focusses on “Building a strong ecosystem for sea farers” – In order to nurture world class seafarers, it is necessary to develop a strong ecosystem encouraging participation of women, developing an effective E-governance and recruitment system to increase ease of access for seafarers and improve transparency.
The Global Example of increasing women participation in Seafarers of Taipei is cited – Taipei has achieved a significant women participation is seafarers through active marketing and implementation of a recruitment mandate. As a result, the share of women seafarers reached over 3.5 % against the global average of about 2 %. The contribution factors are (a) introduction of an act to provide fair opportunities for participation in Maritime Education and training – Gender Equality Education Act 2019 (b) Active usage of media to promote women seafarers through micro movies and press conferences – Marketing and promotion (c) Chinese Taipei shipping companies employ women seafarers as a part of their CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility (d) Specialized Programs of introductions of gender diversity programs to raise awareness and (e) State owned shipping companies are required to recruit female nautical candidates – a recruitment mandate.
The Maritime India Vision 2030 flags launch of ‘Women Seafarer’ program with four prongs (a) Awareness and marketing – increasing awareness regarding women seafarer roles through career counselling/ marketing campaigns and publicizing women seafarer success stories to improve sentiment (b) Incentivisation – on Supply side – by leveraging scholarships and promote participation through waving tuition fees and on demand side – by evaluating mandating domestic shipping companies to hire women seafarers (c) by promoting gender sensitization and zero tolerance gender discrimination (d) For seafarers onshore – launching buddy program and counselling support if needed.
The Maritime India Vision 2030 underlines that in order to develop a holistic ecosystem, it is important to ensure the well-being of seafarers. At present, there is limited awareness and knowledge about the mental well being of seafarers. This should be addressed through establishment of port welfare committees. As was mentioned, women in India have only 0.5 % share in onboard seafarers. The lack of participation is mainly due to limited knowledge of this career opportunity, lack of incentivisation from shipping lines and cultural bias. To address this issue an awareness campaign should be started to publicize the success stories of women seafarers and inform of available opportunities. In addition to this, onboard gender sensitisation should be encouraged, and onboarding buddy program should be launched.
At this event with the focus on “ Sagar Mey Samman- Honour at Sea” certain high points are worth celebrating – On March 6th, 2021 The then Hon’ble Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways flagged off M.T Swarna Krishna – the first time in World Maritime History that a ship is being sailed by all women officers – Sailing towards the international day of women in Maritime on 18th May 2022 an all women merchant officers fleet commanded M.T Swarna Godavari – 9 – Both these voyages demonstrated the Shipping Corporation of India and Government of India’s exemplary leadership at the global front and makes all of us proud. – We respect and applaud pioneering officers like Capt Radhika Menon, the first female captain of the Indian Merchant Navy. In 2016 she also became the first woman to receive the IMO award for exceptional bravery at sea. Such inspirational stories need to be told – the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2022, appreciation by Hon’ble Prime Minister in Mann Ki Baat The mission statement of Diversity, equity and inclusion should be for a true pursuit of integrating the world beyond the core business of connecting global supply chains.
The Maritime Administration in India has comprehended that they need to go all the way to connect diverse talents and perspectives in fair and inclusive workplaces where the employee feel that they belong (the single hallmark of a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace – which promotes diversity of thought and a culture of respect, fairness and a strong sense of belonging and ownership – the biggest gainer is the national economy itself and it does transform the world into a better place.
From the Directorate General of Shipping a pilot training program for Gender Sensitization for the benefit of Management, Faculty & Support staff of Pre- Sea & Post Sea Marine Training Institutes is being further. The DG Shipping has issued order No:1 of 2023 dated 20.01.2023 on “Gender sensitization Training for candidates undergoing Pre-Sea and Post Sea Competency courses” The effort is to concertedly drive change forward, get over the institutional inertia and mindsets.
At the end every individual desires a good place to work, a place where you belong, where you participate without fear or favour equally and a place where you are cherished and a place where you grow with equal opportunities ……Each person comes from a diverse professional background, different skill sets, different cultures but that is the diversity which when given equal and fair opportunity —make Organisation grow and with the organisation the individual grows too Along side the Government and policy framework Business leadership too needs to establish a culture and working environment where one feels at home, while being their true self and foster a team spirit that contributes to organisational goals and challenges…..this responsibility has to emanate from the business leadership.
Around the Globe, women are confined by stifling stereotypes, discriminatory laws and unhealthy practices. We together must eradicate this by inculcating inclusive policies, regulations and procedures. The strategy is to have the first step and cross a threshold…that sets the change into place and the change management and organizational learnings commence at this first initiation phase – where all stakeholders contribute and this initiation is then integrated into the operational and growth plans of the nation – hence the initiative of “Sagar mey Samman – Honour at Sea” which aspires to increase the percentage of women seafarers with a concerted effort and institution support.
Deliverable 10: The Directorate General of Shipping shall undertake a major campaign to ensure reduction of accidents and risks on board with an initiative titled “Suraksha Pratham- Hamesh” – “SAFETY FIRST – ALWAYS” where in there shall be an extensive documentation of all incidents at sea and during operations at ports and the security and safety protocols shall be highlighted to disseminate how to ensure safety and risk-free professional engagement as a seafarer. This shall be supplemented 10 with a major engagement on the learning side with web-based learning management system and massively open online courses with safety and risk certifications after standardizations of the course content.
Deliverable 11: The Directorate General of Shipping shall be approaching the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) to conduct the following studies (a) Model psychological examination framework before induction of cadets regarding their suitability in merchant navy. (b) Preparing cadets for induction into merchant navy (c) Mental health of Indian seafarers’ measures to improve their well being The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) is an apex centre for mental health and neuroscience education in the country operating autonomously. The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore Act, 2021 declared the institution as of national importance and to provide for its incorporation and for matters connected thereof. The Institute continues to be the largest training centre for mental health and neuroscience professionals in the country.
Deliverable12: As part of the 75th Year Anniversary year celebrations of the Directorate General of Shipping A health and wellbeing conclave shall be organised (one day) which shall essentially cover areas of how to manage and cope with stress and to manage the seafarers mental health issues. The outcomes from this conclave shall be incorporated into the operational aspects of maritime administration suitably accordingly.
Deliverable 13: As part of the 75th Year Anniversary year celebrations of the Directorate General of Shipping- A Work environment and work place well-being resolution shall be catalysed with a conclave which shall be organised (one day) which shall essentially cover areas of how Shipping companies and employers can provide better work environment to help to manage and cope with stress and to manage the seafarers mental health issues. The outcomes from this conclave shall be incorporated into the operational aspects of maritime administration suitably accordingly.
Deliverable 14: A retreat of P & I club shall be undertaken again on the focus of risk reduction and mitigation and safety aspects and how to impact of the safe and stress-free work conditions for seafarers. The outcomes from this conclave shall be incorporated into the operational aspects of maritime administration suitably accordingly.
Deliverable 15: Social media and website of Directorate General of Shipping to be completed revamped to ensure that there is adequate content through social media campaigns to destigmatize mental health issues within the maritime community and promote physical wellbeing. By sharing stories and resources and expert advise and by facilitating an open and supportive environment seafarers would feel reassured and would properly engage with their health issues and seek help.
Deliverable 16: A two-day conclave of Maritime Training Institutes shall be organised wherein it shall be ensured that the deliberations distil out the best approach to ensure psychometric evaluation during admissions and also for both pre sea and post sea course how the maritime training institutes can assist in equipping and training the sea farer to tackle issues related to health, more specifically stress and mental health.
In concluding, Jagannathan said: “At the end I would like to thank everybody for a patient hearing and request all to come forth and pool in their efforts to ensure a better future for the seafarers – bereft of all stress and mental strain.
“Let us all listen to our hearts – it may be in the left side – but it is always right.”
Jagannathan acknowledged the presence and contributions the Crew Division in the Directorate General of Shipping, led by Shri Ashish Sinha; Dr. Asif Altaf from ITF, London; Capt B K Tyagi, his absence sorely felt; Shri Asif Upadhye, founder Good Wave Foundation; Captain Gajanan Karanjikar, Chairman, AIMPA, and CMMI Warden; Dr. Sanjay Bhavnani (MMS-I Director); Capt Shaikh Zaheb Jamil, Master Mariner, Eastaway fleet; Capt M P Bhasin, M.D, M.S.C Crewing and Chairman, CMMI; Ms. Aiswarya Pilankar, M.D Nautical Marine and VC- IMF; and General Secretary of FSUI, Shri Manoj Yadav, and the office bearers of Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI).
-Marex Media