India ranks among top 3 global suppliers of seafarers : Sonowal
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday lauded India’s maritime growth, announcing that the country now ranks among the top three global suppliers of trained seafarers with a workforce exceeding three lakh. He was addressing the 10th convocation ceremony of the Indian Maritime University (IMU) in Chennai, where 2,196 students graduated.
Sonowal highlighted the transformation of India’s maritime sector under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, noting that the sector has become central to India’s economic, strategic, and global ambitions. “Careers in shipping, ports, shipbuilding, logistics, research, and green maritime technologies have never been more diverse or in demand,” he said.
Since 2014, Indian ports have undergone extensive modernisation, achieving a world-class turnaround time of just 0.9 days—better than ports in the USA, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, and Singapore. Nine Indian ports are now ranked among the top 100 globally. The ₹76,000 crore Vadhavan port project will become one of the largest container ports in the world. Cargo movement on inland waterways has grown sevenfold, and coastal shipping volumes have surged by over 150% in the last decade.
The government’s Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 outlines an ₹80 lakh crore investment roadmap to strengthen port infrastructure, promote coastal shipping, boost shipbuilding, and advance green shipping initiatives, including green corridors and hydrogen bunkering at major ports.
Sonowal also highlighted a ₹70,000 crore package to revitalise shipbuilding and ship recycling, supported by the ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund. The Indian Ship Technology Centre (ISTC), being set up in Visakhapatnam with a ₹305 crore investment, will serve as a hub for R&D, engineering, and skill development.
“These transformative measures are expected to generate 25–30 lakh direct and indirect jobs in shipbuilding, ports, shipping, logistics, and allied industries,” Sonowal said, calling upon graduates to embrace innovation and contribute to India’s emergence as a global maritime powerhouse and leader in the blue economy.
