Weekly News Roundup: DGMA Reforms for Indian Seafarers
Introduction
This week brought welcome relief and hard reminders for Indian seafarers. Nineteen crew stranded in Yemen are on their way home, the Indian Navy freed a hijacked fishing vessel off Somalia, and the IMO Council said 25 seafarers have now been killed since the Middle East conflict began.
At home, DGMA kept up a busy pace for Indian seafarers: new Seafarers’ Identity Document fees, a digital certificate pilot with ISF Verify, a new harassment complaint committee for women seafarers, exam updates for marine engineers and its monthly welfare report. India also pushed ahead on ports, shipbuilding and ammonia bunkering. Here are the 17 stories from the past seven days that matter most to Indian seafarers and crews worldwide.
Table of Contents
Indian Seafarers and Crew Safety in Conflict Zones
Five stories this week show how war and piracy keep putting crews at risk, even as the International Maritime Organization presses governments to keep shipping lanes open and safe.
Indian Embassy Evacuates 19 Seafarers Stranded in Yemen
The Embassy of India to Yemen evacuated 19 Indian seafarers who had been stranded for about two weeks in Hodeidah and Sana’a, both under Houthi control. The embassy said all are safe and on their way home, as India counts 15 seafarers among its nationals lost in the West Asia conflict. Read More
IMO Council Urges Seafarer Protection as Conflict Deaths Reach 25
The IMO Council’s 138th session in London called for the safety and well-being of seafarers and for key shipping lanes to stay open. Secretary-General Arsenio Domínguez said a crew death on the tanker Velos Sapphire raised conflict deaths to 25, with at least 130 verified attacks. Read More
Iranian Lawmaker Says Indian Ships Exempt from Hormuz Transit Restrictions
An Iranian lawmaker claimed that ships from India, China, Iraq and Qatar are exempt from Iran’s Hormuz restrictions, with Indian ships still paying transit fees. No official directive confirms this, the conditions remain unclear, and the claim is no guarantee of safe passage for crews. Read More
Indian Navy Frees Hijacked Iranian Fishing Vessel Azini off Somalia
The Indian Navy, supported by the Indian Air Force, freed the hijacked Iranian fishing vessel Azini off Somalia’s Puntland coast in a 48-hour operation more than 3,000 km from Mumbai. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said all 20 crew members were released safely. Read More
14 Filipino Seafarers from Sunk Contship Jet Return Home
Fourteen Filipino survivors of the Contship Jet, which sank after a sea-drone attack off Varna, Bulgaria, in the western Black Sea, returned home. All 18 crew were rescued after spending up to three hours in the water when the captain ordered them to jump. Read More
DGMA Reforms for Indian Seafarers
DGMA issued four important updates this week on identity documents, digital certificates, workplace safety for women and seafarer welfare.
DG Shipping Implements New Seafarer Identity Document Rules and Fees
DGS Circular No. 73 of 2026 puts the new Merchant Shipping (Seafarers’ Identity Document) Rules, 2026 into practice, replacing the 2016 biometric SID rules based on the International Labour Organization standard. A new SID, renewal, duplicate or replacement now costs Rs 3,000 in the SID e-module. Read More
DGMA Signs MoU to Link Indian Seafarer Certificates with ISF Verify
DGMA signed an MoU with the International Chamber of Shipping and Lloyd’s Register OneOcean to pilot a link between Indian seafarer certificates and ISF Verify. Seafarers will be able to share DGMA-issued certificates digitally and choose who sees them, while the certificates stay under DGMA’s control. Read More
DGMA Reconstitutes Complaint Committee on Harassment of Women Seafarers
DGMA Order No. 29 of 2026 reconstitutes its POSH complaint committee on sexual harassment of women seafarers for two years. The nine-member panel is chaired by JNPA’s Ambika Singh and includes a woman chief engineer, a maritime psychologist, ISWAN and the MUI Women’s Wing. Read More
DGMA Monthly Report Tracks Seafarer Abandonment, Welfare and Grievances
DGMA’s September report counts 323,429 active Indian seafarers in 2025, up 5%, with women at about 2.17%. Open abandonment cases rose to 75, involving 608 seafarers, and the report lists 2,932 complaints registered on the e-Navik grievance portal. Read More
Exams and Training Updates
Indian seafarers preparing for marine engineering Certificate of Competency exams got two useful updates from DGMA this week.
DGMA Releases Model Question Papers for MEO and ETO Exams
DGMA posted new model question papers, dated October 2026, for MEO Class I, Class II, Class IV and ETO exams on its official website. Most papers carry 100 marks over three hours and mix calculations, sketches and descriptive answers, giving candidates a clear guide to the exam pattern. Read More
DG Shipping Issues Seat Booking SOP for MEO Written Exams
A new SOP lets MEO Class IV and Class II candidates book written exam seats at another MMD when their parent MMD has none left. Booking runs in two phases: parent MMD only for the first six days, then cross-centre booking in the last two days. Read More
Seafarer Rights and Welfare Worldwide
Two stories from Australia and the Philippines show why the rights promised under the International Labour Organization‘s Maritime Labour Convention still need firm enforcement, a lesson that matters for Indian seafarers serving on foreign-flagged ships.
Australia Bans Bulk Carrier Over Falsified Rest Hours
AMSA banned the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Wooyang Venus from Australian ports for 90 days after inspectors in Newcastle found crew work and rest records deliberately falsified to hide excessive hours. The ship had already been detained twice in Australia over similar problems. Read More
Industry Leaders Urge Governments to Act on Seafarer Criminalisation Cases
At Crew Connect Global in Manila, industry leaders said shipping has done all it can for seafarers facing criminal charges abroad and urged governments to act through consular and foreign ministry channels, citing long detentions such as that of chief mate Ali Albokhari in Turkey. Read More
India’s Ports, Shipbuilding and Coastal Growth
India’s maritime growth story continued, with new port milestones, a shipbuilding investment drive and draft rules for ammonia as a marine fuel, all of which could open new jobs and training needs for Indian seafarers.
Visakhapatnam Port Berths First Panamax at Inner Harbour for Alumina
Visakhapatnam Port berthed a Panamax ship, MV Guan Yuan Ju Xing, in its Inner Harbour for the first time to load about 30,600 tonnes of alumina for NALCO. The milestone needed careful approach planning, close pilot and tug work, and safe mooring arrangements. Read More
India to Host Shipbuilding Investment Conclave in New Delhi This Month
India will host the India Shipbuilding Investment Conclave 2026 in New Delhi on 16 and 17 November, presenting five shipbuilding clusters in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. India aims to rank among the world’s top five shipbuilding nations. Read More
India Targets 12% Coastal and Waterway Freight Share by 2047
At a meeting in Puri, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal set a target to double the share of coastal shipping and inland waterways in India’s freight from about 6% to 12% by 2047. Coastal cargo has grown about 140% in 12 years, to 177 million tonnes. Read More
DG Shipping Releases Draft Ammonia Bunkering Guidelines for Indian Ports
DG Shipping released draft ammonia bunkering guidelines for all ships, suppliers and terminals at Indian ports, covering ship-to-ship, truck-to-ship and shore-to-ship transfers. The rules include yearly hose pressure tests and a safety data sheet for every consignment. Comments are due by 18 November 2026. Read More
Conclusion
The safe return of 19 Indian seafarers from Yemen and the Navy’s rescue off Somalia are good news, but the IMO Council’s count of 25 seafarer deaths shows that the danger is far from over. Until official guidance says otherwise, Indian seafarers and their shipmates should treat every Gulf and Red Sea transit as high risk, whatever is claimed about exemptions.
At home, DGMA’s steady stream of reforms is a positive sign for Indian seafarers. Digital certificates could cut delays at sign-on, the new POSH committee gives women seafarers a clear place to raise complaints, and exam updates make preparation easier. The new SID fee and draft ammonia rules are worth reading closely.
Over to you: Indian seafarers, have you faced delays because of paper certificates, and would a digital system like ISF Verify help you? Are you preparing for an MEO exam? Share your experience in the comments below – your voice helps fellow seafarers stay informed and safe.
Disclaimer: This digest contains simplified news summaries for general information only, and some of the information may later go out of date. Any information about rules and regulations (for example from the IMO, ILO, flag states, DG Shipping/DGMA or other maritime authorities) should be checked on the official website of the authority concerned for its current applicability before making any decision. CrewMirror and its owners and operators will not be responsible for any loss or damage caused by the use of information published on CrewMirror pages and posts.
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