Lok Sabha Question No. 2780 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-05
Subject: Recruitment of Seafarers
Ministry: SHIPPING
Asked by: Ratansinh Magansinh Rathod, Vinayak Bhaurao Raut, A.K.P. Chinraj, Shrirang Appa Barne, Hemant Patil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SHIPPING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2780

Io BE ANSWERED oN 5'" DECEMBER,2019

## RECRUITMENT OF SEAFARERS

2780. SHRI RATANSINH  MAGANSINH RATHOD:

SHRI VINAYAK  RAUT.

SHRI A,K.P. CHINRAJ:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI HEMANT SRIRAM PATIL.

Will the Minister of SHIPPING be pleased  to state: qhqF.+6{{m'

- (a) whether the practice of improper  registries  has resulted  in difficulties  in the recruitment of seafarers  in the country;
- (b) if so, the details  thereof  along with the remedial steps taken/being  taken in this regard  and to eradicate unscrupulous  recruiters  for seafarers;
- (c)whethertheGovernmentisawarethat3,T62seafarershaveallegedlysecuredqualification certificates  without  attending  classes;
- (d)ifso,WhethertheDirectorateGeneralofShipping(DGS)hasinitiatedactionagainstthese alleged 3,762 seafarers  and the institutes  that have awarded the certificates  and if so' the details  thereof; and
- (e)  the other steps taken by the Government  to maintain  its reputation as a supplier of quality seafarers  to the  global shipping industry?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR SHIPPING (SHRI MANSUKH MANDAVIYA)

(a) & (b) Yes Sir As per Merchant Shipping Act' 1958 and Merchant Shipping  (Recruitment  & PlacementService)Rules,20l6,theRecruitmentandPlacementservicesareregisteredand licensedtorecruitandplacelndianseafarersonboardshipsHowever'anumberofcases havebeenreceivedintheDirectorateGeneralofShipping(DGS)aboutthediffrcultiesbeing faced by lndian seafarers  who are recruited and placed on board Foreign  Flag ships by unknown/unlicensed  recruitment  agents'

To prevent such cases' an e-migrate  system was launched on 11'08 2017' wherein only registered  Recruitment and Placement  Services  (RPS)  have been authorized  to submit seafarers  data. This data is accessible  to the immigration authorities to verify  whether  the seafarerstravellingabroadarerecruitedthroughauthorizedRecruitmentandPlacement Service(RPS)agents.onlyonsuchverification'seafarersareallowedbyimmigration authoritiestopassthroughimmigrationchannel.lnadditiontotheabove,thefollowing remedial  steps have taken in this regards'

- An advisory was issued by DGS in the newspaper, highlighting the importance of recruitment  only through DGS licensed/reg istered  RPS entities  Or through lndian Shipowners.  Updated list of RPS entities is available on the DGS website.
- Promulgation of new simplified continuous discharge certificate  (CDC) rules in 2017 and making the entire  process and issuance of CDCs  paperless & online.
- lntroducing  e-submission of engagement  and discharge  details by lndian  ship-owners and registered  RPS in the DGS e-Governance  System.
- Revised Merchant Shipping (Recruitment  and Placement)  Rules 2016 have been promulgated, wherein  the RPS Rules have been aligned with the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006 Regulations.
- The DGS has also sent one to one e-mails to all lndian seafarers registered  in its eGovernance System advising them not to accept maritime recruitment  and placement through non-DGS registered entities.
- The DGS approved Maritime  Training  lnstitutes  have been requested to display the said e-mails of the DGS on their notice board/website for the benefit of their students.

(c) & (d) Yes Sir, it came to the notice that some of the Maritime Training  lnstitutes  (MTl) have issued course certificate(s) to candidates without their actual attendance and without imparting the required  training. ln certain cases, signatures  of the Course ln-charge  and Principal  / Head of the lnstitute  have been scanned on the certificates and not physically signed.

DGS has issued Show Cause Notice (SCN) to four MTI's which were involved in issuance of the fake certificates. Out of the four maritime trarning institutes, one MTI has requested  for voluntary closure of the lnstitute after surprise  lnspection.  Remaining three MTls to which SCN was issued were denied access to conduct any DGS approved maritime modular  courses.

Further, the courses in which such irregularities  were noticed were identified and the candidates  enrolled in such courses have been prevented  to travel using e-migrate  system, pending  verification  of authenticity of certificates.

Show Cause Notices  (SCNs) were issued to all candidates by the Directorate  on 28.09.2019. The SCNs were sent to their given addresses by speed post, by email and published on seafarer profile. Each of these candidates/Seafarers  was asked to reply to the SCN within fifteen days (with data) of the issuance and to submit ob.jective  evidence to show if he had attended  the said course in the lnstitute.

DGS has received around 1300 replies, out of which final order has been passed for 263 candidates  who gave clear reply of having  obtained certificate  without attending classes  fully.

(e) The growth in the number  of lndian seafarers has been possible  due to a series of measures taken by the Government  to improve the standards of maritime training, increase on-board training opportunities,  improve the examination and certification system and facilitate ease of doing business.

The training curriculum for the officers and the ratings  was revised in 2016 not only to meet the global  standards but also to meet the expectations of the foreign employers.  ln order to regulate the training institutes  working in the private sector, a system of  ,Comprehensive lnspection Programme' (ClP) has been designed to assess the quality  of the institute  on

various  parameters  such as infrastructure,  quality of students intake, quality of faculty, peaagogy, performance  in examination,  on-board training. To standardize  the course material of thisJ -institutes, an e-learning  module has been prepared by the Directorate  General  of Shipping (DGS) and provided freL of cost to all lndian seafarers to allow them to upgrade  their knowledge and skills before appearing  for examinations.

Maritime training requires compulsory  training in the class room and on-board  a ship without which a cadet  (trainee) cannot be certified by the Maritime  Administration  for obtaining  a  iob  in Merchant  Navy. While lndia has created a large capacity in impartrng  class room training for Merchant Navy, there has been a major constraint in providing on-board ship training for the students enrolled  for class room training.  A policy shift was made by the regulator by holding the training  institutes responsible  for on-board ship training  of the students  also and not only for the class room training.  Further, to release more on board ship training slots, a decision was taken to allow on-board training  of officers and ratings on tugs and offshore vessels also These two initiatives  have opened additional berth for nearly 4000 trainees

The Government has also brought major regulatory relaxation for obtainrng  lndian Continuous Discharge Certificate  (CDC) which is a pre-requisite for boarding a vessel for the purposes of employment.  A new liberalized  CDC regime was introduced in 2017 which allowed  lOthpass lndian citizens who had completed a 14 day basic maritime course to obtain lndian CDC. Earlier, they were required  to complete at least 6 months training for obtaining  cDC.  Many seafarers having  past experience  in sailing have managed to procure  lndian cDC The DGS has so far issued  more ihan 70,000 cDCs under new cDC Rules, in the year 2018-'19,  itself

The Government has also given a lot of emphasis on introducing  e-Governance  initiatives in the field of Maritime  Administration  and today the entire process of obtaining  CDC, training, issue of Certificate  of Competency,  application  for examination  and interviews,  obtaining of medical certificates,  process of Recruitment  & Placement  Service and lmmigration for boarding  a foreign flag vessel etc. have been made on line.

The constant increase in the number of lndian seafarers has been the result of cumulative impact of the decisions of the Government to improve  the quality  of maritime training, increase in the training capacity,  increase in the number of training berth, standardization  of course curriculum  and course material, improvement in the examination system and above all, by ease of doing business brought through simplified processes and e-governance  modules.