NYK scouting for Indian mariners

NEW DELHI: Japanese shipping major NYK is scouting for Indian seafarers to man their vessels. It is planning to double the number of Indian seafarers to 900 by 2010. At present, about 25% of NYK Shipmanagement’s (a subsidiary of NYK), workforce comprises Indians, second only to the Filipinos.

“India offers a strong pool of trained manpower, particularly at the technical and managerial levels. Indian maritime certification is also accepted world-wide which is an added advantage,” NYK Shipmanagement (NYKSM) chief representative of India Tatsuo Kodama said.

With salaries growing at about 40% in the international maritime sector, Indian seafarers are preferring foreign shipping companies over domestic ones. Seafarers aboard Indian ships also face a slew of taxes, which they are exempt from on foreign ships.

The average salary of a captain has increased by three times over the last ten years to about $9000 per month. “Recruitment of Indian seafarers will take place at all positions, though the maximum demand is for engineers.

About 450 Indians are employed in 241 positions at present,” Mr Kodama said. NYKSM has set up its in-house training centre at Mumbai and has also tied up with Tolani Maritime Institute in Pune and RL Institute of Nautical Sciences in Madurai to provide training and scholarships to candidates. It has also recently opened an office in New Delhi to cater to the northern region. NYKSM already has offices in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.