Discuss the significance of the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025 in strengthening seafarer welfare and safety in India.

Q. Discuss the significance of the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025 in strengthening seafarer welfare and safety in India. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

India's large seafaring workforce long depended on a statute framed in colonial times. The Merchant Shipping Act, 2025 (Act No. 24 of 2025) [4], in force from 15 March 2026 [1], replaces the 1958 Act and shifts seafarer welfare from discretionary relief to enforceable statutory right.

Statutory protection for abandoned seafarers - The Act creates a dedicated framework for abandoned vessels, covering owners who are untraceable, insolvent, or have walked away from statutory duties on safety and crew welfare [1]. - It provides for relief and upkeep of stranded crew and empowers the Centre to send replacement crew to Indian or foreign vessels abandoned in or near Indian waters [1], converting a long-recognised labour-rights gap into a legal remedy.

Cleaner recruitment channels - Tighter oversight of Recruitment and Placement Services (RPS) attacks exploitation of aspiring seafarers at the point of entry into the profession [1].

Safety at sea and global alignment - Replaces the unwieldy 1958 Act, which ran to 561 sections, with a leaner 16 Parts and 325 clauses, easing compliance and speeding rule-making [2]. - Aligns Indian law with IMO conventions, strengthening navigation safety, emergency preparedness and salvage capacity [2]. - Creates a statutory basis for implementing evolving international maritime labour standards [1].

Institutional response to emerging risks - The regulator, renamed Directorate General of Maritime Administration under MoPSW, issues advisories for crew transiting conflict-sensitive waters such as the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Guinea [1]. - 14 Technical Committees, including seafarers' associations, training bodies and shipowners, are framing the implementing rules [2].

Limits - Gains remain contingent on subordinate rules still maturing, on inspection and enforcement capacity, and on foreign flag-States, over whom Indian law has limited reach.

Passed alongside the Coastal Shipping Bill on a single day [3], the Act marks a decisive break from colonial-era maritime governance. If the Technical Committees deliver firm rules on abandonment relief and RPS licensing, backed by adequate inspectorate strength, India can pair its ambition of higher Indian-flag tonnage with genuinely decent work at sea — advancing SDG-8 and the dignity guaranteed under Article 21.

(~320 words)

Sources: 1. Merchant Shipping Act, 2025 strengthens Seafarer Safety Framework amid emerging Maritime Security Risks — PIB (21 July 2026) — date of commencement (15 March 2026), abandoned-vessel framework, relief/upkeep and replacement crew, RPS oversight, DGS advisories for conflict-sensitive regions, regulator nomenclature 2. Parliament Passes Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025 after Rajya Sabha Adoption — PIB — 16 Parts and 325 clauses versus 561 sections of the 1958 Act, IMO alignment and safety objectives, 14 Technical Committees 3. Parliament Passes Two Landmark Maritime Bills in Single Day, a First for Shipping Ministry — PIB — passage alongside the Coastal Shipping Bill, 2025 on the same day 4. The Merchant Shipping Act, 2025 (Act No. 24 of 2025) — India Code — statutory citation of the Act