Govt considers establishing 4 more training ships for sailors

The Ministry of Shipping is considering establishing four training ships to train sailors in the country, Union Minister for Shipping G K Vasan said here today. Talking to reporters after flagging-off a tourist cruiser at the port here, Vasan said India had more than 11 lakh sailors and the numbers were expected to reach 16 lakh by 2020. So, there was a dire need for quality training in the maritime education sector, Vasan said. India constituted the fifth largest seafaring community in the world and formed six to seven per cent of the global market, the minister said. "We expect to become nine per cent of the global market by 2020," he added. Emphasising the need for better infrastructure in ports, Vasan said his ministry would improve infrastructure in Marmugoa, Mangalore, Kochi and Mumbai.