India overtakes China as world's second-largest seafarer supplier

The country's share of the global seafaring workforce has more than doubled over the past decade, rising from 5.2 per cent in 2015 to 12.16 per cent in 2026.

India has surpassed China to become the world's second-largest supplier of seafarers, according to the BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026.

 

The report said India now contributes 311,936 seafarers to the global maritime workforce. With this, India's share of the global seafaring workforce has risen to 12.16 per cent, placing it behind only the Philippines and ahead of China, the Russian Federation and Indonesia.

 

Indian officers, at 140,718, account for 13.41 per cent of the global officer workforce, while 171,218 Indian ratings make up 11.29 per cent of all ratings serving aboard merchant vessels.

 

India's share of the global seafaring workforce has more than doubled over the past decade, rising from 5.2 per cent in 2015 to 12.16 per cent in 2026. The country ranked fifth globally in both 2015 and 2021, when its share had increased only marginally to 6 per cent, before jumping to second place this year.

 

 

The report estimates the global supply of seafarers at 2.57 million, against a demand of 2.55 million, highlighting a global shortage of 39,100 qualified officers despite a surplus of 56,890 ratings.

 

Commenting on the report, Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Tuesday the government is pursuing “Mission 20%”, an initiative aimed at increasing India's share of the global seafaring workforce from 12.16 per cent to 20 per cent. The plan focuses on expanding maritime training capacity, strengthening shipboard training opportunities, deepening industry-academia partnerships, leveraging digital technologies, and creating more opportunities for young Indians, particularly women, to pursue careers at sea.