India Becomes World’s Second-Largest Supplier of Seafarers

India became the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers as of 28 July 2026, with 311,936 maritime professionals in the global workforce. India accounted for 12.16% of the world’s seafaring workforce and ranked behind the Philippines in the BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026.

Seafarer Workforce and Global Ranking

Seafarers are maritime professionals who work on merchant ships, cargo vessels, tankers, and other commercial ships. India ranked fifth globally in 2015 with 5.2% of the global seafaring workforce and rose to 6% in 2021 before reaching 12.16% in 2026. India supplied 140,718 ship officers, which formed 13.41% of the global officer workforce. India also supplied 171,218 ratings, which formed 11.29% of the global ratings workforce.

Officer and Rating Composition

Ship officers are personnel who hold command, navigation, engineering, or management responsibilities on board vessels. Ratings are crew members who perform operational, technical, and support duties on ships. Between 2010 and 2024, the officer-to-rating ratio among Indian seafarers changed from 60:40 to 35:65. The global officer-to-rating ratio stood at 45:55 during the same period.

Government Target and Workforce Trends

The Indian government is pursuing Mission 20%, which aims to raise India’s share of the global seafaring workforce to 20%. The mission uses training capacity expansion, shipboard opportunities, and digital services as its main components. The number of distinct Indian seafarers increased from 62,267 in 2010 to 3,23,429 in 2025, as recorded in DGMA Circular 06 of 2026. Female participation in Indian seafaring rose from about 1,600 distinct seafarers in 2021 to more than 7,000 in 2025.

Important Facts for Exams

• The Philippines remains the largest supplier of seafarers in the world.
• The BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report is a key global reference on maritime manpower.
• India’s seafaring workforce includes both ship officers and ratings.
• Indian seafarers were the most abandoned crew members worldwide for the third consecutive year in 2025.

Abandonment of Seafarers

In 2025, 1,125 Indian seafarers were abandoned out of 6,223 abandoned seafarers globally. Abandonment is a maritime labour issue in which shipowners fail to provide wages, food, repatriation, or other basic obligations to crew members.