the goan I network
MARGAO
Blaming unscrupulous agents for exploiting gullible seamen by making available fake educational and other documents at a price, the Goan Seamen Association of India has made a fervent plea to the Director General of Shipping to show leniency to the seafarers who have fallen prey to the machinations of the agents.
If the GSAI is to be believed, around 200-300 seafarers from Goa may be affected if the Director General of Shipping bars them from applying for the Indian CDC for five years for producing fake STCW courses and SSC documents prepared by the agents.
Addressing the media, GSAI spokesman Dixon Vaz informed that the seafarers appeal to the DG Shipping to consider the punishment of five years imposed on the erring seafarers.
“The DG Shipping has blacklisted all the institutes which had issued the fake STCW course certificates. Some cruise line companies have fired many seafarers as they had forged documents,” he said.
Saying that the beleaguered seafarers fell prey to the unscrupulous agents after the DG Shipping implemented the educational criteria for Indian CDC holders, Dixon accused some of the agents for taking huge sums of money from the seafarers, even to the tune of Rs two lakhs.
“I urged the seafarers not to fall prey to such false promises handed out by the agents. If anyone has paid the agents, they should bring the matter to our notice or the police. Yesterday, with the help of the Margao police, we managed to recover some amount from an agent after lodging a complaint,” he said.
To a question, Dixon said the seafarers will approach the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar and other officials to take up the matter with Union Shipping Minster and protect the interests of the local seafarers, who fell prey to the machinations of the agents, who had arranged the fake certificates.
