Introduction

The 21st century is witnessing much higher volumes of maritime activities than ever before. The technology support is making the seas far more accessible and encouraging seafarers to undertake longer voyages and in more hazardous conditions. The strategic shift in the geo-politics globally, has brought the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) to the fore and the Indian Seafarers need to be equipped with the understanding of the nuances to better manage affairs at sea. The Indian Maritime Foundation (IMF), the Indian Navy (IN) and the Nautical Institute (NI) came together sometime back to encourage interactions among the seafarers to better understand the operating conditions and foster cooperation. The series of joint maritime seminars began with the theme “Fostering Co-operation between Sea Faring Communities”. The Joint Maritime Seminar – 2017 was held on the 04 May 2017 at the Asvini Auditorium, Mumbai.

The Maritime Warfare Centre (MWC (Mbi)) at Mumbai under the Western Naval Command took the responsibility of hosting the event on behalf of the IN, with support from IMF, Pune and NI (India), west. The half day seminar was meticulously planned and conducted with professional touch and élan. The topics were carefully chosen to comprehensively address the aspects of operations, regulations, safety at sea, environment and more. The speakers exuded expertise and experience and represented organizations that manage varied aspects of the maritime domain relevant to the seafaring community.

Inaugural Session

The inaugural session comprised of three speakers. President IMF, Cmde Rajan Vir (Retd) an experiences seafarer himself with distinguished service, both in the Indian Navy and the Merchant Marine, welcomed all the participants in his opening address and gave a brief background on the purpose of conducting such a seminar. He highlighted the challenges and encouraged cooperation among the young seafarers. The address by the CEO of NI (UK), Mr. Philip Wake was an enlightening and engrossing talk. He has a long career in the seafaring community and over 14 years at the helm of NI (UK). He highlighted the global challenges and enumerated the efforts of NI to help seafarers in coping with the emerging issues. He also spoke about taking the maritime message to the hinterland and their initiative to open an office in Chandigarh. The keynote address was delivered by Vice Admiral A K Saxena, Director General Naval Projects at Mumbai. He highlighted the importance of technology and reiterated how India needs to recognize its maritime potential.

Session I – “Marine Pollution and Response Mechanism”

The first technical session titled “Marine Pollution and Response Mechanism” was moderated by Mr. Philip Wake. The first speaker was Capt S Y Limaye from the NI(India) West, who spoke on “Marine Pollution, the fund convention and the relevant issues”. The second speaker from the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) gave a perspective of “Pollution Control – Organization, Infrastructure, Capability and Way Ahead. The thirds speaker pitched his talk from the post event perspective and how to manage the risk. His talk was titled “After effects of Pollution in respect of Insurers (P&I Clubs)”.

Session II – “Maritime Domain Awareness”

The second technical session was titled “Maritime Domain Awareness” with a mixed bag construct. The moderator for the session was Cmde O Johnson, Curator at the Navy History Society. A well-read speaker who very effectively set the tone for the session with his opening remarks. The first speaker addressed the Search and Rescue (SAR) at sea with the title “SAR response Organization”. The second speaker Capt Gyanendra Singh brought out the difficulties of the Masters onboard with his talk titled “Role and Responsibilities of a Master in the Modern Environment. The third speaker from the Indian Navy spoke about the Role of the Merchant Marine in assisting the IN, develop Maritime Domain Awareness in peace and wartime.

Q&A

The Q&A following the sessions were extremely vibrant with the participants indulging in passionate interaction. The participants quoted incidents and triggered discussions to highlight the uncertainties and complex nature of events in the maritime domain. The senior mariners with decades of experience at sea and at decision-making levels ashore recognized the changing scenario and emphasized intense interaction across stakeholders to formulate a way ahead in the future. Mrs Malini Shankar, DG Shipping attended the seminar and took keen interest in the proceedings.

Summary by Cmde Srikant Kesnur, Director MWC (MB)

Cmde Srikant Keshnur, Director MWC (Mbi), summarised the day’s proceedings at the end and thanked all the speakers and the audience for their enthusiastic participation. All present were also treated with high tea between the sessions and a sumptuous lunch at the end that also gave them more time to interact informally and make new seafaring friends.

Chief Guest VAdm AK Saxena, Seminar Speakers and Moderators, IMF President and Maritime Warfare Center Officers. 4th from left is Director General of Shipping, Mrs Malini Shankar.