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India to Track Every Seafarer Globally with August Dashboard
India will launch a seafarer tracking dashboard on Aug 15 after West Asia attacks disrupted shipping. Over 60 ships and 4,000 seafarers were secured. The E-Samudra platform also aims to digitize maritime governance.
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The government will release a beta version of a digital dashboard on August 15 that aims to track every Indian seafarer worldwide, Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Secretary Vijay Kumar said on Saturday. The initiative follows attacks on commercial vessels in West Asia and the Black Sea that have disrupted shipping routes and raised crew safety concerns.
Kumar said close co-ordination among agencies has already secured safe passage from the Strait of Hormuz for more than 60 India-bound ships. Over 4,000 seafarers working on vessels in West Asia have returned home. "Now our goal is to track every Indian seafarer globally irrespective of whether he is sailing on an Indian or a foreign flagged vessel," Kumar said. The dashboard will enable constant monitoring and co-ordinated action for crisis support, he added.
On Saturday, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated E-Samudra, a digital maritime transformation platform that integrates services for seafarers, shipping companies, ports and other maritime service providers. The launch comes as India seeks more investment and aims to expand its own merchant fleet. "E-Samudra is not merely a technology platform; it is a significant step towards making maritime governance simpler, more transparent and more stakeholder centric," Sonowal said.