Ninth convocation of Indian Maritime University in Chennai held

Former Foreign Secretary of India, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, presents a certificate to a student at the ninth convocation of Indian Maritime University, in Chennai on Monday, October 7, 2024
| Photo Credit: R. Ravindran

In the last nine years, the number of seafarers has increased by 140%, said Harsh Vardhan Shringla, former Foreign Secretary of India and Ambassador to the United States, on Monday (October 7, 2024).

He was speaking at the ninth convocation of the Indian Maritime University in Chennai.

Mr. Shringla said India generating seafarers, primarily through the efforts of the Indian Maritime University, has resulted in our adding more than a lakh of people to the workforce, which is now close to three lakh seafarers. “The number of women seafarers has gone up by over 500%. Today, we have over 10,000 women seafarers who are working in this industry,” he said.

He noted that during the Global Maritime Summit held last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that India would become one of the top five ship-building nations in the world. The Maritime Mission seeks to make India a top seafaring nation with world class education, he added.

Malini V. Shankar, vice-chancellor of the Indian Maritime University, presented the annual report and spoke about the various initiatives that are being taken up by the university and the Memoranda of Understanding that had been inked.

As many as 1,974 students graduated this year from the Indian Maritime University.