India Targets Fake Seafarer Training Certificates in Sudden Crackdown
The country's shipping directorate is hitting back at fraud, and by extension, at exploitative crewing practices
India's shipping directorate is cracking down on the age-old problem of fake seafarer training certificates, sourced from low-quality foreign registries and sold to Indian mariners by crewing agents. Indian officers and engineers who hold such documents will be banned from sailing, and the agents who market the credentials will likely lose their licenses to do business.
Unlike domestic-focused employment markets like the U.S. - where virtually all mariners obtain U.S. Coast Guard-issued licenses and work within the U.S. registry - Indian nationals can get their STCW certifications outside of India if they plan to sail foreign-flag (as about 80% do). They can get their licenses at another flag administration, then sail on a foreign ship by working with a Recruitment and Placement Service License (RPSL) crewing agency. That arrangement is common enough, but it breaks down when the documentation is fraudulently issued to personnel who are not in fact qualified.
The Directorate General of Shipping says that some RPSLs have lured seafarers into sailing on fraudulent certificates - for example, offering ratings a fraudulent Certificate of Proficiency if they ship out with a particular agency. These cases are often found in tandem with abusive employment conditions on substandard ships, Indian seafarer advocates say, and the flag states involved in issuing these fake certificates are notoriously associated with noncompliance. In other cases, fraudulent, unregistered agents have offered to sell "packages" of fake course certificates from unauthorized maritime institutes - including schools which simply do not exist.
"These activities which are attributable to a few unscrupulous agents have not only caused disruption to the lives of seafarers who are facing the investigation by the authorities, but have the potential to cause more damages in the future if not suitably addressed at this stage," the directorate wrote.
The agency now requires shipowners, managers and agents to make sure that all of their licensed personnel have valid STCW certifications from flag states recognized and authorized by India. This includes checking course certificates for authenticity and providing guidance to any seafarers found to be in violation of the code.
Indian seafarers have been reminded to sail on valid licenses only, or face the penalty of disbarment from the profession for a minimum of two years.
For some less reputable RPSLs, the requirement is an existential threat, crewing agency CEO Capt. Sanjay Prashar told the Economic Times. "They all will be suspended, and I won't be surprised if D.G. Shipping files a legal case against them as well," he said. He raised the prospect that some vessels could even be arrested on arrival in India if fraudulently-licensed crewmembers were found aboard.
The rule could also lead to disruption for some legitimately-licensed crewmembers, industry sources told Economic Times, simply because the list of approved flag administrations is not comprehensive. The D.G. Shipping regulation limits approved foreign credentialing to the flag states of Malaysia, UAE, South Korea, Sweden, the Commonwealth countries and Iran - leaving out the biggest flags like Panama, the Marshall Islands and Liberia.