To promote the government's mission of women's empowerment, DGS is raising awareness in society about women in the seafaring profession and providing aid and assistance to encourage women's participation in shipping.
DGS aims to enhance the visibility and presence of women seafarers in the maritime sector.
To protect the rights of women seafarers and promote their fair treatment onboard ships, the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), through M.S. Notice 07 of 2019, has issued guidelines aimed at enhancing the status of women seafarers and ensuring a conducive work environment aboard vessels. This primarily emphasizes the following:
As part of the Recruitment and Placement Policy, the shipowner should include a statement in the company policy that prohibits discrimination based on gender in employment, wages, and promotions. This principle should also be incorporated into the recruitment procedures.
For permanent or regular employees, shipowners should provide maternity leave in accordance with the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961, as amended.
Shipowners may also consider providing appropriate employment onshore for pregnant women seafarers until medically permissible conditions are met.
As part of the onboard complaints and redressal policy, every effort should be made to resolve complaints of sexual harassment on the ship itself through established procedures and guidelines. This should be done in a fair, effective, and expeditious manner while maintaining the confidentiality of both the complainant and the individual against whom the complaint is made.
For the promotion of education in Maritime Training Institutes, the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), through the Maritime Training Trust (a trust established by the Directorate), has been providing scholarships to Indian women seafarers who are undergoing pre-sea courses at DGS-approved Maritime Training Institutes (MTIs) since the 2014-2015 academic year.
This scholarship is awarded to Indian women seafarers who are undergoing pre-sea courses (including officer and rating programs) at DGS-approved Maritime Training Institutes (MTIs) since the 2014-15 academic year. The Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) provided a scholarship of ₹50,000 per woman candidate until the fiscal year 2018-19. This amount has been increased to ₹100,000 per woman candidate starting from the fiscal year 2019-20.
The status is as under –
Sr No.
Year
No. of women seafarers applied for financial support
Financial support to per women student (Amt in Rs.)
Amount funded by MTT (Amt in Rs.)
1
2014-15
45
50,000
22,50,000
2
2015-16
50
50,000
25,00,000
3
2016-17
50
50,000
25,00,000
4
2017-18
51
50,000
25,50,000
5
2018-19
106
50,000
53,00,000
6
2019-20
185
1,00,000
1,85,00,000
7
2020-21
269
1,00,000
2,69,00,000
8
2021-22
367
1,00,000
3,67,00,000
9
2022-23
476
1,00,000
4,76,00,000
10
2023-24
658
1,00,000
6,58,00,000
Total
2,257
21,06,00,000
Directorate General of Shipping, Mumbai (Directory)
Easily schedule your meetings with designated officials through the Visitor Access Management System (VAMS). Choose your preferred date and time, submit your request, and track the status seamlessly.QR Code will be generated after approval.
