India Emerges as World Second Largest Supplier of Seafarers
| General Studies Paper III: Indian Seafarers, Government Policies & Interventions, |
Why in News?
According to the BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026, India became the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers, contributing 311,936 professionals and 12.2% of the global maritime workforce.
India’s Rising Position in Global Maritime Workforce
- Global Position: According to the BIMCO–ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026, India is the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers.
- Only the Philippines ranks ahead, while China, Russia and Indonesia follow India.
- Growth Journey: India’s share increased from 5.2% (2015) to 6% (2021) and 12.16% (2026).
- The country has moved from fifth to second position globally within a decade, demonstrating rapid maritime workforce expansion.
- Workforce Contribution: The global merchant fleet employs 2,565,580 seafarers, comprising 1,048,980 officers and 1,516,600 ratings.
- India contributes 311,936 maritime professionals and 12.16% of the global seafaring workforce.
- India supplies 140,718 officers (13.41%) of the world’s officer workforce and 171,218 ratings (11.29%) of global ratings.
- The domestic officer-to-rating ratio shifted drastically from 60:40 in 2010 to 35:65 in recent years.
- Global Presence: Indian seafarers serve on merchant vessels across the Indian Ocean, Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Persian Gulf and Arctic routes.
- The Indian Ocean & Persian Gulf is crucial for India’s energy security. Seafarers manage oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb.
- 125 Indian seafarers operate on six Indian-flagged vessels west of the Strait of Hormuz, while another 41 work on foreign ships in that zone.
- Arctic Routes, the emerging Northern Sea Route (NSR) presents new opportunities, opening shorter transit times between Europe and Asia.
Key Drivers Behind India’s Seafarer Growth
- World-Class Maritime Training: India’s rise is driven by a strong network of maritime education and training (MET) institutes approved by the Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping).
- Training follows STCW Convention standards, making Indian seafarers globally employable.
- Large Skilled Workforce: The BIMCO–ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026 estimates India supplies 311,936 seafarers, a large number of skilled forces. This balanced availability of technical and operational manpower has strengthened India’s global position.
- Quality Certification and Compliance: Indian seafarers receive internationally recognised STCW certification, ensuring compliance with International Maritime Organization (IMO) safety, competency and training standards. This enhances employer confidence in Indian maritime professionals.
- Young Demographic Advantage: India’s large young workforce, expanding technical education base and continuous supply of skilled cadets provide a sustainable talent pipeline.
- This demographic dividend helps meet the growing global demand for qualified seafarers.
- Government Policy Support: Initiatives such as Maritime India Vision 2030, Sagarmala Programme, digital seafarer services and skill-development reforms have strengthened maritime infrastructure, employment and global competitiveness of Indian seafarers.
- English Proficiency and Technical Skills: Indian seafarers possess strong English communication, engineering knowledge and navigation skills. Their ability to work in multinational crews improves employability on international merchant vessels and specialised ships.
- Cost Competitiveness with High Quality: India offers highly skilled manpower at competitive costs, making Indian officers and ratings attractive to global shipping companies without compromising safety or operational efficiency.
Significance for India
- Strengthening India’s Blue Economy: A larger seafarer workforce directly supports India’s Blue Economy, which promotes sustainable ocean-based economic growth through shipping, ports, fisheries, offshore energy and coastal industries.
- Skilled maritime manpower improves productivity across these sectors and supports Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
- Boost to Global Trade Competitiveness: Around 80% of global merchandise trade by volume is transported by sea.
- India’s growing pool of trained seafarers enhances the efficiency of merchant shipping, increasing India’s importance in international trade and logistics.
- Foreign Exchange and Household Income: Indian seafarers earn internationally competitive salaries, generating substantial foreign exchange remittances.
- These earnings improve household incomes, strengthen domestic consumption, support local economies and contribute positively to India’s balance of payments.
- Employment Generation and Skill Development: With 311,936 Indian seafarers employed globally, the maritime sector creates high-quality jobs for marine engineers, deck officers, ratings and maritime professionals.
- This supports Skill India, reduces unemployment and promotes globally recognised technical skills.
- Strategic Maritime Influence: Indian seafarers operating across international shipping routes increase India’s strategic presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and major sea lanes.
- The presence of Indian crew members projects India as a reliable global partner and a “Net Security Provider” in the Indo-Pacific.
- This strengthens maritime diplomacy, enhances India’s reputation and supports its role as a responsible maritime nation.
- Support During Global Supply Chain Disruptions: The BIMCO–ICS Report 2026 notes a tight global labour market, with global demand (2.55 million) nearly matching supply (2.57 million).
- India’s large skilled workforce improves global shipping resilience during labour shortages and trade disruptions.
- Enhancing Port-Led Economic Growth: A strong maritime workforce complements investments under Sagarmala, modern ports and coastal logistics.
- Better manpower improves port efficiency, vessel turnaround time and multimodal connectivity, reducing logistics costs and supporting export-led growth.
- Advancing Green and Digital Shipping: As global shipping shifts towards decarbonisation, alternative fuels, automation and digital navigation, India’s trained seafarers provide the skilled workforce needed to operate next-generation vessels, improving long-term competitiveness.
- Supporting National Maritime Vision: The Government’s Mission 20% aims to increase India’s share of the global seafaring workforce from 12.16% to 20%.
- Achieving this target will strengthen economic growth and India’s aspiration to become a leading global maritime power.
Challenges Faced by Indian Seafarers
- Geopolitical Conflict Exposure: Indian seafarers increasingly serve as sitting targets in active global crossfires.
- Civilian merchant vessels face lethal missile and drone strikes in strategic choke points like the Red Sea, the Black Sea, and the Gulf of Oman.
- Tragic incidents, such as the strike on the vessel Settebello and the MV Golden Leo, have resulted in multiple Indian casualties.
- The Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) frequently issues strict security advisories restricting deployment in high-risk zones like the Strait of Hormuz.
- Global Crew Abandonment Crisis: India faces a severe crisis as its mariners are the most abandoned crew worldwide.
- According to data from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), 1,125 Indian seafarers were abandoned out of 6,223 globally across 410 stranded ships.
- Unscrupulous shipowners frequently defect, leaving crews entirely stranded at foreign ports without basic financial support or legal channels for immediate repatriation.
- Non-Payment of Maritime Wages: In abandonment and insolvency cases, global seafarers were collectively owed over USD 25.8 million in unpaid wages.
- While the ITF successfully recovered USD 16.5 million, hundreds of Indian crew members waited out long legal battles for months without receiving their salaries.
- Multi-Jurisdictional Legal Vacuums: A typical Indian mariner might be recruited domestically, sail aboard a vessel flying a Flag of Convenience (FoC) like Panama, and face emergencies in foreign waters.
- This highly fragmented corporate liability shield allows negligent shipowners to evade accountability.
- Information Asymmetry: Seafarers often sign contracts without knowing the true vessel owner, active sanctions, insurance validity, or the ship’s history of crew abandonment.
- Flag State Loopholes: Open registry flag states frequently fail to enforce basic obligations under the Maritime Labour Convention regarding welfare, fair wages, and repatriation.
- Reactive Diplomacy: Because Indian diplomatic missions are organized geographically rather than tracking mobile vessels in real-time, assistance often arrives only after a crisis or casualty occurs.
- Criminalisation and Legal Risks: Indian crews may face arbitrary detention and criminal investigations in foreign ports despite lacking involvement in alleged offences. The IMO–ILO Fair Treatment Guidelines (2025) seek to protect seafarers’ legal rights, but implementation remains uneven.
Government Initiatives for Seafarer Safety
- DG Shipping Safety Advisories: The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) regularly issues safety advisories for Indian seafarers in conflict-prone regions such as the Persian Gulf and Iranian waters.
- The Government has instructed shipowners and recruitment agencies to avoid deploying Indian seafarers on vessels transiting highly volatile routes.
- DG Shipping has directed RPSL agencies, ship managers and employers to maintain 24×7 emergency contact systems for Indian seafarers.
- Real-Time Vessel Monitoring: The Government has introduced a real-time ship monitoring system to track vessels carrying Indian crew worldwide.
- A ship-by-ship operational dashboard enables authorities to monitor movements and respond rapidly during emergencies or security incidents.
- In May 2026, DG Shipping issued detailed guidelines to prevent abandonment of Indian seafarers on foreign-flag vessels.
- Diplomatic Protection and Rescue Operations: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Indian embassies and foreign governments coordinate search, rescue and evacuation during maritime emergencies.
- Recent operations in Ukraine demonstrate India’s commitment to protecting Indian crew members overseas.
- International Safety and Labour Standards: India implements IMO conventions such as SOLAS, STCW and the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) through DG Shipping. These standards ensure safe working conditions, competency certification, medical care, welfare and occupational safety for Indian seafarers.
- SSTP & DG Shipping: The Directorate General of Shipping regulates rigorous training under the STCW (Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping) Convention, ensuring Indian seafarers remain highly employable.
- Digital Seafarer Identity and Verification: The INDOS (Indian National Database of Seafarers) digitally records certification, qualifications and service details of Indian seafarers. This prevents fraudulent documentation and strengthens regulatory oversight.
- Seafarer First Initiative: The “Seafarer-First” initiative focuses entirely on tracking, protecting, and supporting Indian maritime crew operating in conflict zones within West Asia.
- It tracks every Indian mariner in high-risk zones, such as the Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf, and Gulf of Oman, regardless of the vessel’s flag.
- It is mandated by the DGS to monitor vessel-by-vessel status, navigational safety, and crew tracking.
- For every affected Indian seafarer’s family will have one Dedicated Liaison Officer to assist with medical updates, wages, legal entitlements, and repatriation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
1. How did India become the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers?
India achieved this through quality maritime training, STCW compliance, skilled workforce and government support.
2. Which country ranks first in supplying seafarers?
The Philippines remains the world’s largest supplier of seafarers, according to the BIMCO–ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026.
3. How many Indian seafarers are currently employed globally?
Around 311,936 Indian seafarers are employed worldwide, representing 12.16% of the global maritime workforce.
4. Why is the demand for Indian seafarers increasing?
Demand is rising due to global officer shortages, quality training, English proficiency and internationally recognised certifications.
5. What qualifications are required to become a seafarer in India?
Candidates need DG Shipping-approved training, STCW certification, medical fitness and educational qualifications.
6. Which institutions provide maritime training in India?
Training is provided by DG Shipping-approved maritime institutes, including the Indian Maritime University.
Disclaimer: Information in this article is based on official announcements and public records. Regulations and implementation details may evolve over time.