India’s Maritime Foreign Policy and Seafarer Security
Indian Seafarers in Conflict Zones: Context and Background
- Indian seafarers often work across multiple jurisdictions, making it difficult to fix responsibility during maritime emergencies.
- Several Indian seafarers have been killed, injured or stranded because of the ongoing West Asia conflict.
- Commercial shipping crews increasingly face risks from conflict despite having no role in hostilities, raising questions about the protection owed to civilian maritime labour.
India’s Maritime Workforce: Key Facts, Importance and Global Presence
- India has around 3.2 lakh seafarers as of June 2025 — the maritime workforce has nearly tripled compared to 2014.
- A 2026 report ranks India second globally in supplying seafarers, after the Philippines.
- Indian seafarers contribute over 12% of the global seafaring workforce, making India central to world shipping.
- Indian seafarers regularly cross jurisdictions, creating challenges for territorial consular mechanisms designed around fixed geography.
Challenges Facing Indian Seafarers in International Waters
Multiple Jurisdictions
Seafarers frequently work across different legal systems, creating uncertainty over who is responsible during emergencies.
Conflict Risks
Commercial crews face missiles, drones, mines and direct attacks in conflict-affected maritime regions.
Crew Abandonment
Abandoned seafarers often struggle because responsibility keeps shifting among multiple stakeholders.
Consular Limitations
Territorial diplomatic systems cannot effectively monitor seafarers who are constantly moving across waters.
Information Gap
Families often know a ship’s location but remain unaware of the actual safety status of the crew.
Flag State Delays
Some flag States fail to enforce obligations relating to abandoned crews and their repatriation.
Recruitment Risks
Seafarers may unknowingly join vessels that have a previous record of crew abandonment.
Limited Transparency
Contract information may not fully disclose vessel ownership, insurance status or operational risks.
India’s Maritime Diplomacy and Consular Protection Mechanism
Seafarer First
India introduced measures to account for affected seafarers during the West Asia crisis.
Maritime Dashboard
Authorities will monitor ships, security threats and crew welfare in high-risk regions in real time.
Family Liaison
Every affected family will receive a designated liaison officer for continuous communication.
Consular Protocol
India needs a permanent mechanism clearly defining responsibilities after a distress signal is raised.
Dedicated Officers
Indian missions should maintain specialised officers stationed in major international shipping centres.
Regional Activation
Monitoring systems should remain operational for as long as a region continues to stay high-risk.
International Maritime Governance on Seafarers’ Safety
- Maritime Agreements: Existing bilateral agreements mainly promote employment access and certificate recognition, not protection.
- Consular Protection: Current agreements provide only limited provisions for legal assistance and repatriation.
- Regional Cooperation: India, the Philippines and Indonesia — the world’s top seafarer-supplying nations — can jointly advocate stronger protection standards.
- International Platforms: Common global standards should be pursued through the IMO and the ILO.
- Maritime Convention: Flag States should be held to their obligations under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC).
