The Director General of Shipping will be renamed as the Director General of Maritime Administration in a key institutional reform under the new Merchant Shipping Bill which is expected to be moved in the Lok Sabha soon. The reform will appropriately reflect the office’s duties to oversee maritime affairs, other than commercial aspects of ports, and supervise discharge of obligations of ports under international conventions.
The Bill seeks to repeal and re-enact the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. Further, it seeks to set up a body responsible for carrying out regulatory and oversight functions in respect of the security of vessels and port facilities.
With a vast coastline and port development by private entities, efficient removal of security lapses and threats is a must. It is also the requirement under international conventions. This also ensures the integrity in operations of ports, which positively impacts the bankability of India as a maritime jurisdiction and has potential to reduce costs to trade.
The National Shipping Board, under the proposed law, will consist of six Members of Parliament and other members, not exceeding sixteen, of which at least four will be women, to be appointed by the Central government to represent the Central Government, ship owners, seafarers and other interests.
It provides that the ship owners and seafarers will be represented equally in numbers. The Members of Parliament as members or Chairperson of the National Shipping Board are not considered to hold an office of profit for the purposes of Article 102(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. The Bill also seeks to introduce digitised processes to enhance ease of doing business and boost investor confidence. Besides, it seeks to set up an advisory board to be called Seafarer’s Welfare Board to advise the central government on the measures to be taken for promoting the welfare of seafarers under the Act.
