TMW: What is lacking among Indian Seafarers, generally? How would you rate Indian Seafarers, pay-wise? Aren's some nationalities under-quoting?

Mr. Mathur: Indian Seafarers lack teamwork. There seem to be too much of individuality. Secondly they seem to have taken up sea-faring career for short-term gains because lately a majority of them are known to ask for premature relief too often. In short they do not care to fulfill contractual obligations.

Indian sea-farers are known to be good worldwide; but I think they are over rated pay-wise. The feedback we get from our clients indicate that in general Indian seafarers demand higher wages but their output does not justify the higher wages. We have no reason to believe that some other Nationalities are under-quoting. They may be demanding wages which are less than those of Indian seamen but this should be taken as good market strategy for them.

TMW: Isnt's Indian education generally considered good?

Mr. Mathur: There is no doubt that education standards of Indians is high and much better than the world's average. But there is lack of willpower on part of individual to transform good education to high performance.

TMW: What is lacking after education and what needs to be done?

Mr. Mathur: Indian seaman lacks the skills to convert their high standards of education to nearly same level of skills. It is more due to absence of competition. With easy availability of job; most Indian seamen are complacent.

TMW: Don't Indians have the English language advantage?

Mr. Mathur: About English language, it is true that Indians are generally good at English but we need to do a more careful study of this advantage because a with lot of emphasis being given on regional languages at school level; we are coming across quite a number of seamen who are poor at English. This is an alarming trend.

TMW: How and when are newer openings created?

Mr. Mathur: Mostly newer openings are created due to increase in fleet but at times these are due to non-availability of old hands. Indians generally tend to take long leave and traditionally would like to be present at homes for mostly all family gatherings. This create problem in good planning.

TMW: How important is ISPS in checking terrorism, which institutes are generally preferred for ISPS?

Mr. Mathur: Implementation of ISPS code is a step in right direction. It is difficult to say how much it will help in checking terrorism. But a beginning has been made and it should be taken seriously. We are generally using M.T.I in Powai and Naval Maritime Academy at Colaba in Mumbai and FOSMA Institute in Delhi for S.S.O course.

TMW: Which (type of) institute do you generally prefer and why, Should one depend on an institute's "brand value"?

Mr. Mathur: We have no preference for any particular instiute but generally opt for those, which have better corporate image. Brand value is important in all field; and we also give importance to "BRAND VALUE" but that is not the only criteria. We also depend on feedback from those who actually have used the institue.

TMW: What are the standards, how do you select seafarers?

Mr. Mathur: Regarding standards of on which selections of seafarers is made; we are guided by our Principal's criteria of selection. We have a system of percentage weight-age point for each rank and follow it strictly. In general we look at the record to determine the level of consistency and candidate's ability to meet contractual obligations. For new trainees; we go for written tests followed by personal interview with emphasis on his understanding the unique requirements of this profession. It is important to know if the new entrants understand that seafaring profession is not as glamorous as generally thought to be.

TMW: Indian seafarers are finding employment difficult with every passing day. Comment

Mr. Mathur: I do not think there is difficulty to find employment for Indian officers. I understand that ratings are finding it difficult to find employment. This is mainly due to the fact that Indian ratings output is not up to the standards expected by owners. While they demand high wages as per ITF CBA but their performance does not justify the level of wages.

TMW: Apart from Ship Management, what other services do you provide?

Mr. Mathur: We offer ship management; seaman travel services and superintendency.

TMW: How do you pick seafarers for vessels managed by you and what do you do to retain them?

Mr. Mathur: We generally source new candidates by way of advertisement and offer variety of incentives like facility to carry family; paying for courses other than STCW modular courses; rejoining bonuses etc., to retain them.

TMW: Normally companies train their staff on CBTs (Computer based training) and not simulators. Comment

Mr. Mathur: We generally follow guidelines given and agreed by our principals on additional trainings. Mostly it is on C.B.T for junior ranks and simulator based for certain ranks.

TMW: How is the Indian training vis-ŕ-vis employment?

Mr. Mathur: I think the standards of training in India is quite well oriented towards employment. But steps need to be taken to implant training creating brand names for themselves as whole and not to think of individual's goals only.

TMW: How about Indians attitude complaint?

Mr. Mathur: There is no doubt that Indian seafarers lack positive attitude towards their profession. It is the result of higher demand than supply. When a seaman knows there are plenty of jobs available; then they tend to become careless resulting in poor performance. It is not that Indians have negative attitude but it is mainly due to lack of foresight, which makes them look for short-term gains instead of creating a name for themselves. Each individual thinks of only himself without really giving a thought to the fact that good deeds done by them will help to secure jobs for future aspirants.

TMW: Ship-owners need more multi-purpose seafarers. What do you feel about the dual certification idea?

Mr.Mathur: Dual certification is a very good idea but it should not be used mainly to reduce the level of manning on board.

TMW: Will the Bargaining Treaties help 'expensive Indians' when other nationalities are available cheap? What about their 'hidden advantages'?

Mr. Mathur: The biggest victim of so-called Bargaining Treaties are the Indian Ratings. Indians are very transparent in their dealings and straight forward in their accounting practice for seafarers. I think there is no level playing field for Indian Ratings when compared to some other nationalities. Some action should be taken to safeguard the interest of Indian Ratings.