Vinay Singh, Managing Director of Marine HR at the Anglo-Eastern Group, recently announced that they plan to add an additional 1,000 Indian seafarers to their existing pool this February.
He believes that in the next decade, India’s share of global seafarer demand will skyrocket from 8% to 20%, thanks to its strong education system, linguistic abilities, and young population.
This is largely due to India’s thriving coastal trade and cruise tourism industries, making them a major supplier of maritime labour at an international level. Singh believes that as Europe’s seafarer population ages, foreign shipowners will likely look towards India for recruitment.
On April 5th, India celebrates National Maritime Day in honour of the S.S Loyalty—the first Indian flag merchant vessel which sailed from Mumbai to London in 1919.
He declared that, amidst the current Ukraine-Russia conflict, foreign shipowners are in need of Indian seafarers due to their skill set. Despite 18% of the world’s population being Indian, they only provide 8% of the planet’s personnel in seafaring.
He also believes that with its education system, language capabilities, and youthful population, India can reach its full potential by increasing its global presence to 75%.
Source: Marine Insight
