Shipping body MASSA last week said it has, for the first time, come out with a list of 40 Indian maritime institutes that are well-equipped to impart quality training to seafarers and students for merchant navy.
“Maritime Association of Shipowners Shipmanagers and Agents (MASSA) has finally published a list of 40 Indian maritime training institutes as preferred academic establishments, which are well-equipped to impart quality education to Indian seafarers and Indian students keen on joining merchant navy,” the association said in a statement.
It said the exercise is aimed at helping Indian students to identify prestigious maritime institutes and also help Indian and foreign shipowners and marine crewing agencies worldwide recognize credible Indian maritime institutes for sourcing well-trained maritime workforce needed to operate around 50,000 specialized cargo ships across the globe.
“No fee was charged to the maritime institutes, which participated voluntarily in this nine-month long pan-India survey exercise conducted under our supervision by a Mumbai-based research agency, IIRE or ISF Institute of Research and Education,” MASSA CEO Shiv Halbe said.
“Through such an endeavour, we aim to increase the global share of Indian seafarers from 7 per cent currently to at least 9 per cent in the near future,” Halbe added.
Currently, around 150 institutes approved by government’s maritime-administration offer a variety of marine related courses across the country.
The statement said the institutes mentioned in MASSA’s preferred list are mainly located in and around cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Panjim, Kolkata and Pune.
It added that India has so far maintained a coveted place as one of the respected suppliers of competent seafarers and strategic ship managers to the international maritime sector.
However, with 12 per cent of the world’s population, India just has 8 per cent of the seafarers market currently, whilst the Philippines with just 2 per cent of the world’s population has grabbed about 20 per cent global share, it said.
“In such a scenario, the preferred list of maritime institutes published by MASSA recently will help Indian seafarers and students to up skill their maritime acumen and enhance employment chances at the global level,” the statement added.
Discussion about this post