India Becomes World’s Second-Largest Supplier of Seafarers

¨  India became the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers with 311,936 maritime professionals in the global workforce.

¨     India contributed 12.16% of the world’s seafaring workforce and ranked after the Philippines in the BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026.

¨     Seafarers are maritime professionals who work on merchant ships, cargo vessels, tankers, and other commercial vessels.

¨     India’s share in the global seafaring workforce increased from 5.2% in 2015 to 6% in 2021, reaching 12.16% in 2026.

¨     India supplied 140,718 ship officers, accounting for 13.41% of the global officer workforce.

¨     India also supplied 171,218 ratings, contributing 11.29% of the global ratings workforce.

¨     Ship officers are responsible for command, navigation, engineering, and management duties on vessels.

¨     Ratings are crew members who perform operational, technical, and support functions on ships.

¨     The officer-to-rating ratio among Indian seafarers changed from 60:40 in 2010 to 35:65 in 2024.

¨     The global officer-to-rating ratio during the same period was 45:55.

¨     The Indian government is implementing Mission 20%, which aims to increase India’s share of the global seafaring workforce to 20%.

¨     The mission focuses on expanding training capacity, increasing shipboard opportunities, and developing digital services.

¨     The number of distinct Indian seafarers increased from 62,267 in 2010 to 3,23,429 in 2025, as recorded in DGMA Circular 06 of 2026.

¨     Female participation in Indian seafaring increased from around 1,600 seafarers in 2021 to more than 7,000 in 2025.