Consequent to the global fall in the financial market, the shipping industry is worst affected. The shipping fleet size is reduced everywhere due to slow down in cargo movements by sea.  Most of the shipping companies around the world are preferring to recruit foreigners, for cheaper labour cost and hence the job prospects for the fresh graduates in maritime education is much reduced to such low levels that Indian shipping history has ever seen!   

During the last two years graduates in both deck and marine engineering have soured to a strength of more than 3000 and are loitering in the streets of Mumbai. They become easy target for unscrupulous agents and fall prey to their hollow promises,  risking more borrowing of money burdening innocent parents.

These agents also continue to project high prospects for maritime education and rope in many innocent students, thus making good business for themseleves and private maritime training institutes.  Therefore there is no quality based selection, bringing students of good potentials to join marine industry.

The subject has been represented to the Directorate General of Shipping, Mumbai and the Ministry of Shipping to no avail. It is better in the interest of students seeking maritime career, Govt. of India should notify wide awareness of present slump in the shipping industry that students do not fall in the hands of middlemen waiting to deceive parents and students.

Further, these maritime graduate courses have no scope outside shipping, if a graduate cannot manage to get shipboard placement.  The education is very expensive while the prospects of employment in shipping is very bleak.

Another serious consequence of the present flooding of market with new admissions of students is that the present junior engineers also will become redundant soon, as they will be in over supply.  Soon even 3rd/2nd engineer and 2nd mate/chief officers will find themselves in oversupply and will struggle to find suitable placement n companies.

It is strongly recommended that the DG Shipping authority shoud suspend BE Marine engineering and BSc nautical science degree courses for a few years  to be restored only when the shipping industry would seen the light of an upsurge.  Alternatively, the Govt. of India should acquire atleast 10 merchant ships and put them under efficient ship management dedicated to offer training of world standards, should India wish to build HR potentials to supply manpower for the world market for a future date.