New Delhi: India has emerged as the world's second-largest supplier of seafarers, contributing 311,936 maritime professionals to the global shipping industry, according to the BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026. In 2015, India contributed only 5.2 per cent of the world's seafarers and ranked fifth globally, behind China, the Philippines, Indonesia and the Russian Federation. The report estimates the global supply of seafarers at 2.57 million, while demand has reached 2.55 million, highlighting an increasingly tight global labour market. Beginning with the Inland Vessels Act, 2021, the Government has subsequently enacted the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, Indian Ports Act, 2025, Coastal Shipping Act, 2025, Bills of Lading Act, 2025, and the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 2025. We are expanding maritime training capacity, strengthening shipboard training opportunities, fostering deeper industry-academia partnerships, leveraging digital technologies and creating greater opportunities for young Indians, especially women, to pursue rewarding careers at sea.