Why Indian Seafarers are Important to India

Indian seafarer numbers working on foreign vessels grew significantly in the 80’s. Apart from opening employment opportunities for the rapidly growing youth in India, this profession also served to bring home crucial foreign exchange for the country, which helped the Forex reserves quite significantly at the time.

The Indian maritime industry contributes significantly to the Indian economy. According to a report by the Ministry of Shipping, the Indian maritime industry contributed approximately 1.5% to the country’s GDP in 2019, and the role of the seafarers is in it indeed noteworthy.

The maritime sector is one of the largest employers in India. According to a report by the Ministry of Shipping, the sector contributed to about 6.2 million jobs in India in 2019. This includes both direct and indirect employment in various sub-sectors such as shipping, ports, shipbuilding, and maritime services.

Indian seafarers due to their strong basic education, technical skills, work ethics, and proficiency in English, are in huge demand globally. This demand has grown significantly over the last few decades, not necessarily for cost arbitrage, but for their skills. As per current estimates there are around 250,000 active Indian seafarers serving the Indian & foreign flag vessels. During times of war, the Indian seafarers serving on Indian Flag Merchant vessels can be of useful support to the Indian Navy.

Further, as a natural progression from seafaring, Indian seafarers today occupy senior management positions within the industry, and outside, globally. This creates more opportunities for India and Indians in the larger global context.

The maritime industry provides opportunities for skill development and training to Indian seafarers. The industry is constantly evolving, and seafarers need to keep themselves updated with the latest technology and techniques to stay competitive in the global market.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) too poses a significant impact on the maritime sector. The industry will need to adapt to the new technology, renewable energy solutions, green shipping practices, and digitalisation. Armed with a strong educational background, Indian seafarers have already proved their mettle to keep pace with transformation, and the demand for the key positions ashore is growing rapidly as well.

The Indian Maritime sector aggressively promotes gender equality and has made significant progress in this area, ahead of traditional seafarer supply countries. More importantly, the glass ceiling in this predominantly male dominated industry is being broken as more and more women are taking up this profession; a notable boon for our industry.

Overall, the Maritime Industry at large, and Indian seafarers in particular, play an important role in promoting the country’s maritime trade. With over 90% of global trade being carried by sea, the importance of the responsibility is self-evident, as is the opportunity in the national sense.

Marex Media