The Hindu Business Line : Demand for merchant navy officers from India rising

Kochi, May 8 As the shortage of officers to man ships on high seas continues to mount, Indian candidates are being increasingly sought after by international shipping fleet.

Akin to the BPO and IT industry, proficiency over the English language is one important factor for this preference, Mr Babu Joseph, Executive Director of Euro Tech Maritime Academy, said.

The high safety track record of Indian officers while at sea and their superior documentation skills onboard ships have been the other factors that have nurtured the demand.

Rapid growth

The rapid globalisation and accelerated growth in international shipping business have created a world-wide shortage of 10,000 seafaring officers in 2005.

The reluctance of officers from the OECD countries to come back to merchant shipping has further exacerbated the shortage. Pursuing greater comforts and less strenuous job environment, most of the officers from rich countries have been shifting to shore-based jobs, Mr Joseph added.

The exponential growth in Chinese shipping has further accentuated the crisis. The Chinese themselves are finding it difficult to find personnel to man their ships. And India is emerging as a major supplier of seafarers in the international markets.

Soaring perks

As the demand continues to outstrip supply, the remuneration for officers has virtually doubled in the last few years from around $3,000-4,000 to $6,000-7,000 a month, Mr Jenson Paul, Managing Director of Euro Tech, said.

This has also created tremendous opportunities for training institutes such as Euro Tech which has a Bachelor of Science Course in Nautical Science and a four-year B Tech Course in Marine Engineering to produce cadets of officer calibre.

There are seven reputed and recognised Maritime Academies in India and the number of officer-level candidates that they can produce continues to be limited.

While there are courses in Nautical Science and Marine Engineering on offer from these institutions, the absence of a Central University for Maritime Sciences continues to be a problem. “The presence of a Central University would help bring in uniform training and educational standards to all the maritime courses offered in the country,” Mr Joseph said.

Stiff fees

The fees for some of these courses continue to remain quite stiff with a one-year Nautical Science programme costing around Rs 3 lakh and the four-year B Tech Marine Engineering programme commanding up to Rs 1.75 lakh a year.

But there are huge costs involved. The setting up of an engine room facility on the campus alone would cost Rs 6.5 crore, Mr Jenson Paul explained. This would be over and above a variety of other simulation facilities required on campus.

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