Secretary-General of CMMI, and the moderator of the seminar Capt. M P Bhasin welcomed the Director-General of Shipping, Shri Amitabh Kumar who inaugurated the first CMMI Webinar. Capt. B. K. Jha the Master of CMMI, India addressed the Members on the first Webinar (online seminar) and Deputy Master Capt. K V Pradhan introduced the speakers Capt. Saujanya Sinha, Member, CMMI, Associate Director, Applied Research International Pvt. Ltd; and Capt. Prashant Gour, Member CMMI, Head of Institute, Anglo-Eastern Maritime Training Centre, Delhi.

Totally 530+ members participated, as per the counter, in the Webinar from India and abroad. The Webinar was highly appreciated by all the participants.

DGS complimented CMMI for organizing the seminar and briefed about the steps taken by the Government and DGS during the CoVid19 crisis. He said that the government of India has included shipping and seafarers in the list of essential workforce and services.

DG Amitabh Kumar informed about the circulars released regularly from time to time to ensure smooth flow of supply chain including trade, ports, Container Freight Station, Customs House Agent, up-gradation of seafarers' certificates and lastly about the issuing e-Pass to seafarers.

Director-General of Amitabh Kumar said that the first pilot project for signing off and signing on will be in 3 phases. In the first phase, they will allow Indian seamen on ships docked at the Indian ports to disembark and sign off. In the second phase, those on ships in deep the sea will be allowed to return by sea. In the final stage, those who have disembarked from their ships and signed off in foreign ports we will be permitted to return. The standard operating procedure (SOP) to facilitate the return of seafarers is likely to be finalised soon in consultation with the Indian government and foreign governments along with other ministries like health, aviation, shipping, external affairs and finally Home ministry.

He stressed that crew change is a big concern and challenge as it needs coordination with various authorities such as home, health and airlines of foreign countries.

The DG also informed the initiative DGS was working on starting with the oral exams and virtual classes as per IMO guidelines.

He concluded with best wishes for early recovery from CoVid -18 crises and welcomed the suggestions and inputs from the seminar to improve the functioning of the trade.

The first topic covered was "Suppression of Unlawful Act (SUA) Convention and its Indian Application" by Capt. Saujanya Sinha, Member of CMMI and Associate Director of Applied Research International Private Limited. He gave the details about the SUA Convention from 1958 till 1988. He concluded by highlighting the status of the global economy saying it was bleeding and the shipping industry was navigating in uncharted water.

The second topic covered during the webinar was "COVID-19 A Game changer in Shipping" by Capt. Prashant Gour, Member- CMMI, Head of Institute, Anglo-Eastern Maritime Training Centre, Delhi. He spoke about the importance of seafarer’s Mental health, need to enhance analytical skills, making them more adaptive and tech-savvy. He stressed on the need for developing rational thinking and soft skills among Gen-X seafarers. He highlighted that the CoVid 19 will change the working pattern and everyone will have to adapt to the new system.

A Video presentation from Maritime Awareness Programme Society was released on the occasion to acknowledge the role of Seafarers in the functioning of the Global Economy.

There was enthusiastic participation from members during the question and answer session.

The Webinar concluded with a vote of thanks by Capt. Sasikumar CEO of CMMI.

Capt Pradhan announced that on every Friday CMMI will conduct such a seminar through Webinar. He also emphasized that after this successful experiment, they are now looking at the International arena to get the best speakers round the globe and tap the worldwide talent to bring high end knowledge to Indian Master Mariners.

The Webinar session was appropriately assisted with backend support by Mr.Sanjeev Vakil, Managing Director HIMT and its staff.

The 'chat' feedback received from the participants was very encouraging and praised CMMI for taking this initiative and setting the stage for the way future interactions will be conducted in the Shipping Industry.