Posted on September 10, 2025
India’s Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) has issued a draft circular proposing to blacklist 86 foreign vessels linked to abandonment, detention, or arrest of Indian seafarers—citing cases where ships lack mandatory documents, including valid P&I cover. The draft directs immediate repatriation of Indians on the listed ships and bars new deployments of Indian crew to those vessels. Multiple outlets have picked up the move, signaling near-term crewing disruption and compliance cost for operators engaging Indian seafarers.
Blacklists rarely make headlines outside compliance circles, but India’s move is different. With 86 vessels now flagged, the message is clear: cut corners on seafarer welfare and you’ll lose access to one of the world’s largest crewing pools.
Importance: Indian nationals make up nearly 9% of the global seafaring workforce. A ban at this scale affects manning pipelines, chartering costs, and insurance terms far beyond South Asia.
For shipowners, this touches contracts, crew rotations, and even port state control optics. The blacklist isn’t just about punishing offenders; it forces everyone else to demonstrate higher standards, faster.
Taken together, the blacklist is a reset signal: the cheapest crewing solution is no longer the most viable. The winners will be those who treat compliance and welfare as strategic levers, not just regulatory burdens.
