Pratik Bijlani and Sonia Parmar –
As part of India Maritime Week 2025, the Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) organized a landmark seminar titled “GMIS – Guardians of the Sea: Maritime Safety and Security” under the theme “Navigating Safely: Building Smart, Secure, and Sovereign Seaways.” The session emphasized the growing importance of maritime safety and security in protecting national interests, enabling seamless global trade, and fostering a sustainable maritime future for India.
The event, inaugurated with a ceremonial lamp lighting, brought together distinguished leaders and experts from India and abroad, including Chief Guest Ms. Marianne Sivertsen Næss, Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Norway; Mr Shyam Jagannathan, IAS, Director General of Shipping; Inspector General Bhisham Sharma, PTM, TM, Commander Coast Guard Region (West); José Matheickal, Director of Technical Cooperation and Implementation, IMO; and Mr Brian Adrian Wessel, Director General, Danish Maritime Authority.
Delivering the keynote presentation, Mr Jagannathan highlighted the pressing need to strengthen maritime safety through enhanced domain awareness, collaboration between the DG Shipping, Coast Guard, Navy, and IFC-IOR, and policy initiatives such as the Merchant Shipping Act 2025, e-Samudra, and MAITRI Corridors. He unveiled DG Shipping’s forthcoming campaign “Suraksha Sarvpratham”, designed to promote safety culture across vessels and reduce maritime incidents. “The focus is to ensure that seafarers are able to discharge their duties in a risk-free manner,” he said, outlining plans for incident documentation, AI-based safety videos, and online training to reinforce safety practices and create a secure working environment at sea and in ports.
Ms. Næss, in her address, drew attention to the global rise in maritime instability and emerging threats. “Safety and security at sea matter. And today they matter more than ever. Let us work together to ensure that the seas remain safe, secure, and sustainable for everyone,” she urged. Warning against the growing “shadow fleet” that operates outside international regulations, she stressed Norway’s zero-tolerance approach toward maritime fatalities and emphasized the role of public-private cooperation in ensuring a resilient maritime workforce.
Mr Sharma underlined that maritime safety and security form the foundation of India’s maritime revolution. Reflecting on the Coast Guard’s evolution since 1977, he emphasized the need for coordinated, technology-driven efforts and highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a “free, open, and secure maritime network.”
Mr Matheickal, in his speech titled “Beyond the Horizon: Strengthening Maritime Safety and Security through Innovation and International Cooperation,” remarked, “Beyond the horizon lies not only uncertainty but opportunity — and our collective vigilance, innovation, and cooperation are the anchors of that better future.” He discussed modernizing global frameworks such as SOLAS and ISPS, advancing automation and cybersecurity, and promoting inclusivity within the maritime workforce, calling these elements vital for a smart, sustainable maritime future.
The seminar also featured the launch of the HSSE (Health, Safety, Security, and Environment) Manual, marking the introduction of draft HSSE standards — a unified framework to enhance safety, sustainability, and compliance across Indian shipyards and ship recyclers. Aligned with India’s Vision 2047, this initiative aims to benchmark best practices through a new appraisal mechanism ensuring transparency and cleaner operations.
Two dynamic panel discussions followed, exploring strategies to build smart, secure, and sovereign seaways and to empower seafarers for safe and secure seas. Through collective insights from Indian and international experts, the seminar reaffirmed that maritime safety is not just a regulatory obligation but a shared global responsibility — one that will define India’s ascent as a trusted and secure maritime power in the decades to come.
Marex Media