Mitsui Arm Floated To Recruit Shipping Personnel
India is the only other country where such an outfit has been set up apart from native Japan. In other countries Mitsui recruits through local agencies. At present, the trading major has a fleet of 350 ships. The outfit, christened OSK Manning Services, was established this year and has already identified around 200 officers from India and referred them to its headquarters at Tokyo for recruitment.
OSK Manning Services will be involved in identifying qualified officers, training and motivating them and informing the principals (Mitsui) of the eligibility of the personnel for recruitment.
The salary packages are commensurate with international standards and an average trainee engineer or navigator is likely to draw a pay of around $1000 per month and upwards.
Only officers will be recruited through OSK to fill posts such as captain, chief engineer, chief officer, second officer, third officer, radio officer and trainee engineer/navigator.
Japan at present is witnessing a shortage of shipping personnel. The reason being that seafaring is no longer considered as lucrative as before by the Japanese due to the lack of incentives.
On the other hand, India has an abundance of skilled personnel who are willing to enter the merchant navy for the attractive remuneration, usually not available in most other professions.
At present, OSK has two offices, one each at Calcutta and Mumbai. While the marine engineers have been selected by the Calcutta office, the navigational experts will be shortlisted from Mumbai. The two cities have been identified as the ideal site for selecting new recruits for the shipping industry.
OSK has already identified five boys who have just graduated from the Marine Engineering Research Institute (MERI), Calcutta, and will shortly start a training programme for them.
For the navigational side, the shortlisting is likely to be done in March, from the fresh batch of graduates from the Mumbai-based institution, DS Chanakya. Both MERI and DS Chanakya conduct graduation examinations which are approved by the ministry of surface transport.