Rohit Kumar
Port Blair, 21 February 2023
India has ratified the conference No. 185 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Seafarer’s Identity Documents (SID) and accordingly Merchant Shipping (Seafarer’s Bio-Metric Identity Documents) Rules, 2016 has been notified and, issuance of SIDs to Indian Seafarer have been launched by DG (Shipping) from August 2019.
Towards issuance of SIDs to Indian Seafarers, the DG(Shipping) has recognized 09 Data Collection Centre throughout the nation, as a result of remoteness the Seafarers of the Directorate of Shipping Services, A & N Administration had been discovering it troublesome to ebook their slots within the recognized Centres well timed. Moreover, travelling to those Centres at Mainland from these Islands would additionally entail further travelling and different bills together with appreciable time of the Seafarers, which was not in one of the best of curiosity of seafarers. Further, it was additionally not possible for the DSS to spare so many Seafarers collectively from their duties onboard.
In view of above difficulties, the Directorate took the initiative with the Mercantile Marine Department, Port Blair in the direction of establishing a Data Collection Centre at Port Blair. On common persuasion of the difficulty with DG Shipping, a Data Collection Centre for the issuance of SID to Seafarers of those Islands has been arrange at MMD Office, Port Blair, which has began performing from twentieth Feb, 2023 and assortment of information can be finished until twenty fifth February 2023.
All the seafarers of the Directorate of Shipping Services in addition to others have been suggested to completely utilise the ability of the Data Centre in the direction of issuance of their SIDs.
