Protection of human rights of Indian Seafarers working on foreign registered ships remains a concern, says NHRC Member, Dr. D.M. Mulay

New Delhi, 22nd February, 2023

Dr. Dnyaneshwar Manohar Mulay, Member, National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, India today said that without proactive cooperation from different stakeholders, the human rights of Indian Seafarers will remain an area of concern. He was chairing an Open House Discussion organized by the Commission on the human rights of Indian Seafarers. He emphasized the need for better coordination among Ministry of Shipping, Minister of External Affairs, including Protector General Immigration, the Immigration Authorities as well as various stakeholders representing the Seafarers to take care of their human rights violations.

Dr. Mulay said that the tendencies of ship owners to operate their fleets under foreign registration to avoid taxes results in hindrances to fix their accountability in case of human rights violations of Indian Seafarers on-board their ships. Therefore, some mechanism needs to be evolved to ensure that Indian citizens who work in the maritime industry get due protection and promotion of their human rights. He said the Commission is concerned with the aim to forge an understanding among the multiple authorities in the country has been organizing these consultations on a regular interval in the recent past.

Mr. Amitav Kumar, DG Shipping, said that a committee has been constituted to look into the complaints regarding sexual harassment of women seafarers at workplace on 30th January, 2023. The complaints can be lodged on website of the DG Shipping, Government of India.

Mr. Bramha Kumar, Joint Secretary, Overseas Employments & Protectorate General of Emigrants, Ministry of External Affairs said that detailed information is given to the seafarers as part of their pre-departure Orientation Training (PDOT) so that they are aware whom to contact in case of any exigencies. In a positive development, the Ministry of External Affairs has taken on board the data regarding the seafarers wishing to go for oversees employment on the e-migrate portal on the MEA website. He also said that the distressed seafarers can seek assistance under the Ministry’s scheme of Indian Community Welfare Fund, ICWF.

Several important suggestions emerged during the discussions, some of which are as under:

1. Awareness and campaign programs should be initiated in order to enhance the participation of women in the maritime industry. Moreover, sensitization programs may also be conducted for seafarers to eradicate the issues of harassment of women on ships.

2. Awareness about the Mental Health of seafarers should be spread among all seafarers and there should be a dedicated well-being officer in every recruiting agency to address the issues faced by the seafarers when they are sailing.

3. NHRC, DG Shipping and academic institutions like GNLU may work together for preparing a comprehensive handbook on the Human Rights of Indian Seafarers.

NHRC Member, Mr. Rajiv Jain, Registrar (Law), Mr. Surajit Dey, Joint Secretaries, Mrs. Anita Sinha & Mr. Devendra Kumar Nim and other senior officers, apart from senior officers of Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Representatives from the Ship Owners’ Association, Maritime Union of India, Women Seafarers Foundation, Gujarat Maritime University and Gujarat National Law University participated in the discussions.

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