Indians now comprise 10% of all seafarers globally after steep rise over last decade

Citing how the count of active Indian seafarers grew from 117,090 in 2014 to nearly 300,000 at present, Shringla highlighted the immense potential that India possesses in the maritime domain.

Shringla was addressing the ninth convocation of the government-run Indian Maritime University (IMU) at its Headquarters in Chennai as the chief guest. The IMU is dedicated to providing education and training in various areas of maritime studies, including navigation, marine engineering, maritime law, and marine management.

The event marked the successful graduation of 1,974 students, which included four doctoral scholars (PhD) and one MS (by research) scholar. The convocation was presided over by Dr Malini V Shankar, IAS (Retd.), vice chancellor of IMU, who conferred degrees to the graduates and delivered the presidential address.

According to data from the Directorate General of Shipping, GOI, India is the third-largest provider of seafarers worldwide, following China and the Philippines. Indian seafarers constitute nearly 10 per cent of the global maritime workforce, Shringla stated.