Why in news?

The US-Iran conflict and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz since early March 2026 has put thousands of Indian seafarers at risk in the Gulf region.

This has drawn attention to India's massive and rapidly growing maritime workforce — and its changing composition.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• India's Maritime Workforce: The Big Picture
• The Shift in Workforce Composition
• What Kind of Work Are Indians Doing at Sea?
• Indian Seafarers on Foreign Ships: The Dominance of Foreign Flags
• The Hormuz Crisis and Indian Seafarers at Risk
• Key Concerns Emerging from These Trends

India's Maritime Workforce: The Big Picture

• India has emerged as one of the world's top three suppliers of seafarers, alongside the Philippines and China.
  • Indian seafarers (2024) - 3,07,901
  • Indian seafarers (2010) - 62,267
  • Growth - More than fivefold in 14 years
  • Share of global workforce - ~17% (1 in 5 seafarers globally is Indian)
  • Global seafaring workforce - 1.89 million

The Shift in Workforce Composition

• The most significant structural change is the reversal of the officer-to-rating ratio.
  • 2010 - 60:40
  • 2024 - 35:65
  • Global average (2024) - 45:55
• India's ratio has moved well below the global average, indicating a workforce increasingly dominated by lower-ranked, non-officer crew — known as ratings
• Engineering vs. Nautical Crew Growth
  • Both engineering and nautical (non-engineering) crew have grown substantially, but nautical crew has grown much faster:
    • Engineering crew - 25,844 (2010); 1,00,792 (2024) - ~4x growth
    • Nautical crew - 36,423 (2010); 2,07,109 (2024) - ~5.7x growth

What Kind of Work Are Indians Doing at Sea?

• In 2024, half of the non-engineering Indian crew worked in roles such as cooks, hospitality staff, salon ratings, cruise vessel staff, wipers, cleaners, painters, and lookout staff.
  • In 2010, less than 37% were in such roles.
• This signals a downward shift in the skill profile of India's maritime workforce.
• Not all the growth is at the bottom. There has been notable expansion in mid-level non-officer positions too:
  • Bosuns (senior-most non-officer deckhands): 0 in 2010 → 4,324 in 2024
  • Able Seamen: 708 in 2010 → 16,568 in 2024
• Decline in Officer Representation
  • In 2010, nearly 46% of non-engineering Indian crew held the rank of Third Officer or above.
  • By 2024, this had fallen to under 20% — as Indians increasingly joined ships in non-officer capacities.

Indian Seafarers on Foreign Ships: The Dominance of Foreign Flags

• Most Indian seafarers work on foreign-flagged vessels — a trend that has deepened over time:
  • 2016 - 1,23,729 out of 1,43,940 (86%)
  • 2024 - 2,78,466 out of 3,07,901 (90%)
• This structural dependence on foreign-flagged ships makes Indian seafarers disproportionately exposed to risks in hostile maritime environments — with limited protection from the Indian state.

The Hormuz Crisis and Indian Seafarers at Risk

• The US-Iran war and the Hormuz closure brought this vulnerability into sharp focus:
  • Mid-March 2026: 23,000 Indian seafarers facing uncertainty in the Gulf region; 753 aboard 27 Indian-flagged vessels
  • June 11, 2026: Numbers reduced to 18,000 under uncertainty; 562 aboard 13 Indian-flagged vessels — 329 in the Persian Gulf (west of Hormuz) and 233 in the Gulf of Oman (east of Hormuz)
  • The 13 Indian-flagged vessels included crude oil tankers, container ships, bulk carriers, LPG tankers, chemical tankers, and a dredger
  • At least one tanker safely exited the Strait on June 15, following the peace deal announcement
• EAM Jaishankar formally protested attacks on ships carrying Indian sailors, and the US responded that violations would not be tolerated.

Key Concerns Emerging from These Trends

• Skill downgrade risk: India is supplying a growing share of low-skill, non-officer crew. Without active skilling efforts, India risks losing its competitive edge at higher officer ranks to countries like the Philippines and China.
• Dependence on foreign flags: 90% of Indian seafarers work on foreign-flagged ships. This limits India's ability to protect them diplomatically in hostile maritime zones.
• Geopolitical vulnerability: As one of the world's largest suppliers of maritime labour, disruptions in key chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz have an outsized impact on Indian workers and their families.
• Remittance and economic stakes: Indian seafarers are significant remittance earners. Their safety and employment conditions directly affect household incomes, especially in coastal states like Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh.

Conclusion

India's rise as a global maritime labour power is remarkable — but its foundation is shifting. A workforce growing fastest at the lower end of the skill ladder, overwhelmingly employed on foreign ships, and exposed to geopolitical flashpoints like Hormuz, demands a serious national maritime skilling and diplomatic protection strategy.