the goan I network
MARGAO
Asserting that the Government of India has not changed the rules pertaining to Indian CDC (Continuous Discharge Certificate), Additional Director General of Shipping, Amitabh Kumar on Thursday assured beleaguered Goan seafarers that his office will call the representatives of cruise liners for discussion to find a way out to the issue of foreign companies insisting on Indian CDCs for employment on their ships.
The Additional DG Shipping further handed out the assurance after TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai and representatives of seafarers made a fervent plea to the Shipping authorities to protect the interest of the Goan seafarers by suggesting that any implementation of rules should not be of retrospective effect.
“Basic issue here is jobs. All this time, the seafarers were getting jobs on the foreign cruise liners without the Indian CDC. Now some of the companies are insisting that these seafarers apply for jobs with Indian CDCs. We will have to talk to the representatives why they are now insisting on Indian CDCs for jobs. Accordingly, a solution can be found to the issue,” Amitabh told the seafarers in the presence of the TCP Minister.
He, however clarified that the Indian government has not changed the rules regarding issuance of Indian CDC. “It is the change of rules brought about by the employers that is affecting the seafarers. Since it is a question of jobs, we are willing to talk to the representatives of foreign companies so that they continue their jobs.”
When the spokesperson of the Goan Seaman Association of India Dixon Vaz said the DG, Shipping should consider experience of the seafarers instead of the mandatory SSC certificate to issue Indian CDC, Amitabh said there are certain problems since there’s no way to verify whether a person has gained experience through legitimate means. “I cannot say that experience can help the seafarers get the Indian CDC. If you start making experience as the criteria, unscrupulous persons will send our boys abroad for experience and they will end up in getting exploited in foreign soil,” he said.
Amitabh said the government has relaxed the norms for obtaining Indian CDC, saying the SSC educational criteria has not been included now, but has been existing from the beginning. “The DG Shipping has not introduced the SSC criteria now for Indian CDC. It has been there since the beginning along with pre-sea training. In fact, we have relaxed the norms for Indian CDC by dispensing the pre-sea training course if the applicant has the minimum SSC,” he said.
Amitabh said the problem with some of the Indian seafarers has started with some of the foreign companies now insisting on Indian CDC. “All these years, they have been traveling on the cruise liners. The CDC issue was irrelevant since foreign companies were recruiting them without the Indian CDC,” he said, adding ‘since the foreign companies are now insisting on Indian CDCs, the seafarers find themselves in a tight spot because some of them are not qualified to get the CDC now. We need to look into their grievances’.
