Indian seafaring industry needs image building

“Why is shipping an invisible industry across the world even though it touches the daily lives of people in some way or the other?” questioned Mr. Rajaish Bajpaee, CEO, Bernhard Schulte Ship management, during a discussion on Human Resources at the recently held India Shipping Summit 2012. According to him, the main reason is that the industry is unable to take care of its human assets and he felt that it is the right time to work out a solution.

 Pointing at the mismatch between the production of ship and production of human asset, he said that while a ship can be launched in 6 months, it takes about 6-8 years to train a cadet – a fact which puts off able youngsters from entering this industry. Mr. Bajpaee felt that it has become pivotal not just to attract new talent, but also nurture and retain the human assets of this industry. “Over a period of time the expectations of the users of the shipping industry has grown and the society expects flawless operations. We therefore need to take good care of human assets.”

 According to Mr. Bajpaee, the solution is to focus on the 4Cs – Continuity, Competence, Culture and Condition. Explaining further he stated: “Just as we cannot afford to have a new MD in a factory every 6 months for it would disrupt the regular working, we need to have Continuity of work force in shipping also. Second, what Culture is imbibed from shore to ship will determine the ambience on board. Third, to ensure Competency it is not just important to look at the knowledge and experience, but also fuel in the right attitude. And, most important, seafarers need health and better working Conditions. Today, top students don’t choose shipping as a career option so we must think about how we can make life better on sea and attract more dynamic youngsters into this industry for long-term sea-career prospects.”

 Mr. Bajpaee also opined that in order to create more awareness regarding shipping career the mainstream media (and not just dedicated shipping newspapers) could play an important role about highlighting the positive side of this industry and change the general perceptions of common people regarding issues like piracy. Even politicians are ignorant about the issues that affect lives of seafarers and their requirements.

 Seconding his opinion Capt. Vinay Singh, Chairman, MASSA, lamented that most of the students are not even aware of shipping as a career option. “If you ask a mason what he is doing he would probably reply ‘laying bricks’, but we have to show him that he is actually building a house in order to motivate him. Same goes for the students, we have to get them more interested in shipping line.”

 Capt. Philip Mathews, Vice-President (in-charge), Fleet Personnel Department, SCI, pointed out at the urgent need to improve the image of seafaring industry. “Right now the word seafaring only brings out thoughts like piracy, fatigue, long durations and criminalization. People are only complaining about the seafaring industry. We need to create a more positive awareness in terms of career options and also work towards attracting more educated youngsters from metro cities.”

 Capt. Vinay Singh added that though currently the image of the Indian seafaring industry is not great, India is still very promising in this sector considering that the country has competent manpower and a lot of them today are holding forte all over the world.

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