The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Maritime business to get a boost

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 27, 2006

Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Maritime business to get a boost

Staff Reporter

Office of the Mercantile Marine Department upgraded

KOCHI: The upgradation of the Kochi office of the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) to that of a district-level office through a Government of India notification has given a big boost to the already booming maritime business here.

G.S. Sahni, Director-General of Shipping and Secretary to the Government of India, unveiled a plaque at the MMD office on Willingdon Island on Thursday night to mark a new chapter in the life of the department's office in Kochi, a city that is now witnessing a big boom in maritime business.

A function organised earlier in the day to mark the occasion was attended, among others, by merchant navy officers and crew, officials from the Cochin Port Trust and the Cochin Shipyard Limited as well as representatives of the maritime training institutes around Kochi.

Chairman of the Cochin Port Trust N. Ramachandran inaugurated the programme.

M. Jithendran, Chairman and Managing Director, Cochin Shipyard Limited, P.K. Majumdar, Deputy Chief Surveyor, MMD, Kochi, P. Misra, Principal Officer, MMD, Chennai District, and R. Johri, Nautical Surveyor, MMD, Kochi, were among those present.

The Union Government's decision to upgrade the MMD office in Kochi to that of a district-level office comes as part of a drive to streamline the maritime administration in the country. Along with Kochi, Kandla has also been raised to a district-level office.

With the growth of the Kochi port as a major destination for maritime business, the work of the MMD office here has increased substantially.

At present, reports of inspection of ships are forwarded to the Principal Officer, MMD, Chennai, so that certificates can be issued.

This process has been causing delays in the past. The establishment of the Kochi office is a permanent solution to this as Kochi office can now issue statutory certificates from here.

One of the other major benefits of the upgradation of the Kochi MMD office is that examination for merchant navy crew and officers can be conducted here.

Syllabi for training shipping crew and officers have been unified and India is a signatory to international conventions on maritime administration.

There are several maritime training institutes in Kochi that are approved by the Director General of Shipping.

Students of these courses, till now, took their examinations in Mumbai, Chennai or Kolkata.

According to a press release here, about 20 per cent of the shipping crew hails from Kerala and the upgradation of the Kochi centre will be a big benefit to aspiring merchant navy officers and crew.

The construction of a new office building and accommodation for more officers are on, added the press release.

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