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ISWAN meets budding seafarers in Chennai

October 25, 2019
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ISWAN’s Regional Director in South Asia, Chirag Bahri, recently travelled to Chennai to speak to young cadets and meet with a number of organisations regarding seafarers’ welfare.

On 23 October, Mr. Bahri visited budding young cadets at the Hindustan Institute of Maritime Training (HIMT), one of the premier pre-sea institutes in India which recently won a prestigious Maritime Standard Award in Dubai. Mr. Bahri made the cadets aware of the importance of joining vessels through registered manning agents who have a Recruitment and Placement Services Licence (RPSL). He also spoke to them about being prepared for crises and maritime threats at sea, and how to look after their mental wellbeing while on board.

The presentation was attended by over 300 cadets. They were motivated and encouraged by the fact that their chances of being affected by the threats and challenges discussed could be minimised by following their company's procedures, following industry's best management practices, attending briefings and participating in drills on board. There was an interactive session after Mr. Bahri’s presentation in which the cadets asked questions.

Cadets at the Hindustan Institute of Maritime Training

During his visit, Mr. Bahri also presented to senior sailing staff at the HIMT and the Maritime Association of Shipowners, Shipmanagers and Agents (MASSA) on topics relating to the welfare and wellbeing of seafarers and their families.

In addition to this, Mr. Bahri was invited by the Indian Maritime University to provide a day's training for African delegates attending the Ministry of External Affair's Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme in Chennai. He presented ISWAN's maritime threat awareness and preparedness training course, which was well received by all the attendees.

Delegates of the Ministry of External Affair's ITEC programme in Chennai

While in Chennai, Mr. Bahri also met with officials of the Chennai Port Trust and discussed the importance of establishing port welfare committees (PWCs) in their ports. He invited them to attend ISWAN’s upcoming workshop on PWCs to be held in Mumbai in November, which they kindly accepted.

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