The government is drafting standard operating procedures (SOP) to facilitate shore leave for seafarers employed on ships calling at ports, a senior official has said, as the shipping industry cry foul over recent incidents of denial of shore leave to crew at some of India’s smaller ports outside state control.
“We are trying to get an SOP brought into play,” Capt Anish Joseph, Deputy Nautical Adviser at the Directorate General of Shipping, India’s maritime administration, said at a discussion held by the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) in Mumbai on 2 December.
“So, wherever there is Foreigners Regional Registration Office/immigration officers, we are able to reach out to them but in places where there is no immigration officers, we are going to try and achieve an established procedure. That’s something we are working on,” Capt Joseph disclosed.
Shore leave is a period of paid time off for seafarers to go ashore and get a break from their official duties when their ships dock at ports. It’s important for seafarers’ health and well-being and can help reduce stress and fatigue from long voyages.
“What we are proposing is that basis the Seafarers Identity Document (SID) and passport, you (the authorities) should allow (shore leave). That’s what we are trying to drive, at least Indians should be allowed, but even Indians are not allowed (now),” he said.
Foreign seafarers have a vetting process to go through before shore leave is allowed.
Shore leave, according to Capt Joseph, was not a problem at state-owned major ports due to the presence of immigration officers/FRRO’s.
“The problem comes in the non-major ports, where shore leave is a challenge due to the absence of immigration authorities. There are two elements to it; one is the security aspect. The other is that the owners and the agents should show interest. Sometimes the agents add a cost to it, then the ship owners also don’t take interest. The smaller non-major ports are the ones where there is a problem,” he stated.
The D G Shipping is working with the Ministry of Home Affairs to try and ensure that at least Indian seafarers are being given an opportunity to go out.
The SOP will be across the board for all the ports, though the main challenge is in the smaller ones because it will mostly be the DSP/SP officers who are given charge of immigration in such ports, he observed.
“It is also not a routine practice; so, when an SOP is developed, people know it is acceptable. To create a precedent becomes a challenge,” he added.
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