Lets get the numbers first.
Estimated active Indian seafarers – Over 200,000
Estimated active UK seafarers – about 25,000
In these times when Indian , as one of the major provider of quality seafaring work force to the shipping industry should have been on the forefront of providing assistance had failed and lagged behind this community.
Country like UK which has about 10 % of seafarers than what India has had already raised in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on merchant seafarers, fishers and their families, the London-based charity Seafarers UK has created a new Seafarers UK COVID-19 Emergency Fund of £2 million ($2.46 million), with grants being awarded immediately to delivery partners providing advice and support for individual seafarers affected by the widespread corona virus impacts. For India, have not heard anything like that from our unions or Govt although yearly memberships fees are paid to these unions.
UK has already started priority COVID-19 testing for seafarers, In Indian port authorities are still discouraging Indian crew from signing on/off from ships. Can sometime tell me that at these unprecedented times why you need a custom or immigration clearance for a ship which will come offshore for disembarking of Indian crew members and will not come inside the port. This is just money making exercise in these difficult times.
UK to help the students whose exams were cancelled due to COVID-19 has already announced that Engineering oral exams will commence online from 11 May under new plans announced by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. click on this link to read complete instruction. India on the other hand is only worried about the high profile money making training institutes to continue online training so training fees keep flowing. The students are still in limbo and no respite or arrangement has been announced.
On 19th March 2020, UK Government has designated seafarers as key workers, In India no such step is taken although ships keep running and seafarers are on front line continue risking their live’s.
Govt if India must realise that although Indian seafarers are a very small community as compared to other professions but they send almost 8 billion USD remittance annually back home to India and since they are high net worth individuals and spent almost 6 months a year home and their spent back home also adds to the economic growth.
We request our India Government to take some concrete steps to bring back the stranded seafarers and save the jobs of Indian seafarers and they are being lost to Chinese, or other nationalities.
During 2nd world war, merchant navy did a commendable by keeping the supply lines for UK. Hence most of the citizens are aware of their sacrifices. Even I as an Indian seafearer was treated with great respect in UK in the sixties. Hence the UK Govt. does a lot for their seafearers. Seafearers are hardly known in the interiors of India. So is the case in case of the Govt.
Well said Mr Romesh..