Celebration of 16th International Seafarers’ Day

The 16th International Seafarers’ Day was commemorated on 28th June 2026 at an event jointly hosted by IMF, CMMI, IME(I) and MMA at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana, Pune.

The theme for this year was “Carrying world trade , Carrying the risks”.

The event began with the singing of the National Anthem, which was followed by observance of a one minute silence to honour those seafarers who lost their lives during the conflict in the US-Iran Persian Gulf War.

Thereafter, a tribute was paid by Capt Sanjeev Pande to merchant marine officers for their exemplary achievements in the line of duty during the 1971 Indo-Pak war and, in particular, to the heroic action taken by Late Capt Vidyadhar K Gaikwad on 11 December 1971 in escaping from the port of Mongla in challenging conditions, navigating the ship out through a 40 nm narrow channel in the Pashur river, in darkness with navigation aids switched off. A recounting of the same may be viewed at this link.

Thereafter, Cmde Ajay Chitnis, SC, NM ( Retd) recounted another heroic tale of MV Vishva Vijay – a bulk carrier commanded by the late Capt Narang, with Capt Ravi Hajarnavis, Senior Vice President IMF, as the then first officer (the only two officers on board). The ship, which was at Kolkata to load coal, was requisitioned by the Indian Navy to transport a a Gorkha battalion for an amphibious landing to be undertaken by IN Ships Gharial and Guldar off Cox’s Bazaar. For their heroism and devotion to duty, Capt Narang was conferred the Nau Sena Medal, while Capt Ravi Hajarnavis was accorded ‘Mentioned in Dispatches’. Capt Hajarnavis has recounted this incident in more details in Seagull Vol 115, and a copy of the same may be viewed at this link. Cmde Chitnis also spoke about the daring escape of Capt Gaikwad from Mongla, highlighting his navigational skills, courage, determination and devotion to duty, so as to carry out the safe passage under those testing conditions.

The attendees applauded the outstanding contribution of the Merchant Navy in supporting naval operations on numerous occasions in the past and present during times of conflict, recognising that without merchant ships plying the ocean routes and seafarers to man them, there would be no global trade and the world economy would cease to exist.

Following these accounts of Indian seafarers in the past, Mr Atharva Kotwal engrossed the audience with a lecture on Artificial Intelligence and its applications in daily life as well as in the maritime domain. Atharva is the son of Er Girish Kotwal, Chairman IME(I) Pune Branch. A former Marine Engineer himself, he has now moved to the corporate world and is presently VP at a company manufacturing sensors. Hand also developed an AI powered medical app called ‘BharatCare‘ meant to help patients diagnose any illness.

The event was attended in large numbers by the maritime fraternity and stalwarts of the Armed Forces, along with their spouses.

Capt Kiran Joshi, Secretary of CMMI, Pune chapter compered the event.