Reference to Amitabh Kumar Additional Director of Shipping, addressing the concerns of seafarers on April 5, 2018 in Goa stated about quality, credibility and exploitation of seafarers due to which shipping ministry is not encouraging in issuance of experienced based CDC.
Goans are known to be quality seafarers from British days. The shipping industry in olden days was operated from Calcutta now Kolkata with seafarers mostly from Goa, Calcutta, Gujarat, Kerala , Madras, part Maharashtra Bombay, Ratnagiri etc, the Konkan coast contributed to be seafarers in large numbers, it was the Indira Congress in 1984 shifted the industry from Calcutta to Bombay (now Mumbai) and marketed in Northern India.
Thus the original seafaring community was left without any developments, respect to quality and credibility. Today we see so many Institutes are being approved by DG Shipping without proper facilities of training and such seafarers produced do not have quality but they only have SSC with CDC. There is large Goan community on passenger ships without CDC but the companies prefer them for their quality and workmanship.
All flag states require the flag state CDC and not the Country CDC. The fear is always created by Indian Government amongst shipping companies to keep control over them. In 1988 the then DG issued a circular stopping Indian seafarers sailing on Foreign flag vessel due to shortage on Indian vessels. Most good capable seafarers do not prefer to sail on Indian vessels due to corrupt practices all over in the Industry from ship to office and regulatory bodies in India and this is the reason lot of our Indian companies have shifted their flag and base to Singapore.
This has affected the Goans on passenger vessels. There are so many seafarers sailing directly through shipping companies overseas due to high wages because in India wages are lower.
There is also a high court order 1992 in Mumbai to issue CDC to all Indians under sea experience category. Today due to quality of newer Indian seafarers from all these newer DG approved institutes, the rate of unemployment is in large numbers of crew and officers, cause the shift is moving to Philippines so we still have time to understand the quality of Indian seafarers produced today. It was due to hard work and good workmanship of elderly seafarers has kept Indians still in market.
