Anglo-Eastern exec calls for mandatory cadets requirement

Singapore: Capt Pradeep Chawla, Anglo-Eastern's Director of Safety, QA and Training, has called on the industry to support a mandatory requirement for at least two cadets per ship to be added to international manning regulations to prevent a manning crisis.

Speaking on the Future of India as a Crew Supplying Nation at a shipping conference in Singapore today, Capt Chawla expressed the view that Chinese crews would not be much help to International shipowners because of the rapid growth of China's own shipping industry.

"The stock market may go up or down in the next twelve months, but the chances for finding good quality officers will certainly going down in the next twelve months!" said Capt Chawla. "The good news from India is that the administration and the private sector are taking a number of steps to improve the situation."

Today there are over 50 institutions in India providing pre-sea training, he added, and standards are high. The total number of trainees passing out each year has increased to over 5,000 each year, but manning companies would still like "double that number," he added.

"The crisis we have today is a result of the short-sighted approach in the past, where companies did not provide cadet berths on board," he continued. "Two cadets per ship is the minimum intake required to sustain the supply of human resources in the maritime industry and perhaps, the only way to prevent future shortages is to make two cadets, a mandatory requirement in the manning scales for ships."

Anglo-Eastern has been employing Indian officers since early 80's and today is the largest foreign employer of Indian seafarers, with a pool of over 5,000 seafarers from India, out of a total pool of over 10,000 seafarers worldwide. We have invested significantly in training facilities in India over the last 15 years.

Anglo-Eastern has been employing Indian officers since the early 1980s and today is believed to be the largest foreign employer of that nation's seafarers, with a pool of over 5,000 seafarers from India out of a total pool of over 10,000 seafarers worldwide. The company has also invested significantly in training facilities in India over the last 15 years. [07/09/07]

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