Seafarer Workshop - Tuticorin, India 2025

IHRB has launched a two-year initiative to strengthen responsible recruitment in the maritime sector with a strong India focus. The project aims to promote responsible recruitment of seafarers by supporting the implementation of the Employer Pays Principle, increasing transparency in recruitment supply chains, and reducing exploitation and debt-related vulnerabilities of seafarers and their families, with a particular focus on India.

The Employer Pays Principle states that no worker should pay for a job - the costs of recruitment should be borne by the employer, not by the worker. 

Outcomes will include increased awareness of illegal payment of recruitment costs and related risks among industry stakeholders, increased pressure on regulatory bodies to enforce ethical recruitment standards, and the delivery of appropriate training to seafarers in conjunction with key welfare organisations and unions. Through this work, the initiative also aims to foster stronger partnerships across the shipping industry to advocate collectively for systemic change in seafarer recruitment specifically and welfare more generally.

A central component of the India work is structured engagement with shipowners, operators and managers, charterers, container cargo owners, DG Shipping, seafarers’ rights organisations, and importantly, seafarers themselves to identify collective approaches to persistent worker welfare challenges. 

In this context, on 25 September 2025 - World Maritime Day - IHRB and the Mission to Seafarers organised the second Tuticorin workshop (the first was held in 2024) to inform a central part of this evidence base. The session brought together 30 Indian seafarers - from fresh cadets to experienced crew - to discuss recruitment costs and the profound impacts the charging of illegal fees have on mental health, finances, and family well-being. 

Seafarers’ testimonies: recruitment fees

During the workshop, seafarers shared testimonies that revealed systemic malpractices in crewing and their human impact. All participants affirmed that paying recruitment fees has become an almost unavoidable norm for Indian seafarers entering the industry. Despite the legal prohibitions, “no money, no recruitment” was described as the unwritten rule. 

“It is impossible to get a job without paying the recruitment fees.” 

Participants informed that paying recruitment fees has become an almost unavoidable norm, summarised as “no money, no recruitment”. Crew described paying between $2,000 to $6,000 for a single placement, often through chains of sub-agents, with opaque contracts, contract substitution, and deception about jobs, ships, and salaries. 

"I want to feed my family, so I pay… It is like an investment in a business”. 

Several attendees described how multiple intermediaries are involved – a chain of sub-agents between the seafarer and the actual shipping company. 

“Every company has its own agent and we sometimes do not know who the main agent is and who the intermediaries are.”

“If I do not pay the amount immediately, someone will pay a little higher… then I would be the loser.”

In many cases, contracts promised by agents turn out to be deceptive – contract substitution and bait-and-switch tactics are common. Seafarers described being promised one type of ship or salary, only to find a different reality on joining (or sometimes discovering the job itself was fake). 

“The recruiting agencies are like sleeper cells, operating opaquely and striking when seafarers are most vulnerable.” 

Crucially, transparency in contracts is very poor. Participants agreed that key terms like compensation, insurance and death benefits are often not clearly stated, leaving seafarers and their families at risk. 

Moreover, bribery and kickbacks have seeped into shipboard hierarchy. 

“Senior crew like captains and officers demand a share of the illegal recruitment fee from new ratings.” 

A seafarer recounted how his cousin, a fresh entrant, paid ₹3.2 lakh to get on a vessel with a promise to pay another ₹3 lakh later – the captain himself then pressured him for the remainder mid-voyage. When the seafarer could not pay the balance, he was forcibly signed off early, costing him his completion certificate and earning a black mark on his Continuous Discharge Certificate (the mariner’s record book). 

Debt and Mental Health Impacts 

The financial burden imposed by these practices is driving seafarers into a cycle of debt and severe psychological strain. Many attendees described resorting to high-interest loans or private moneylenders to afford recruitment fees. 

“At times when we need money urgently to join the vessel, only loans with huge interest are readily available.”

Several had taken multiple loans simultaneously – borrowing from one lender to pay another – creating a debt trap that is difficult to escape. The stress of heavy debt repayment on modest seafarer salaries is immense. There was a chilling acknowledgement in the room that some colleagues had been driven to suicide under this pressure. 

“Unable to settle the debt with one money-lender, some have to borrow more… and this will lead them to take the extreme step of committing suicide.” 

Mounting financial stress follows seafarers onto the ship, affecting concentration and safety. Fatigue and mental distress were linked to accidents on board: crew members noted that working overtime beyond legal limits – often to earn overtime pay for loans – has caused mishaps at sea. 

Gaps in support systems: unions, government and legal aid

A critical finding of the workshop was the inadequacy of current support mechanisms for seafarers facing these challenges. 

The primary maritime regulator, DG Shipping, maintains a database of seafarers’ credentials and has an online e-governance system, but this has not translated into on-ground protection. Seafarers felt that government intervention in curbing illegal recruitment is minimal and slow. 

Many seafarers reported that reaching unions for help was nearly impossible: This perceived unresponsiveness has led many to stop seeking union help altogether. Worse, some attendees felt that the union is too close with shipowners. 

“We wonder whether NUSI is for the seafarers or for the companies.”

“Union is always favourable to the company.” 

The discussions underscored a protection gap: robust laws and union structures exist on paper, but access to justice and remedies for seafarers is sorely lacking in practice. 

Emerging risks and challenges

The workshop also covered several other issues equally affecting seafarers. Participants highlighted discrimination between officers and ratings in wages, benefits, living conditions, and shore leave, with seafarers frequently denied passes or kept working when in port.

Several issues came to the fore, including restrictions on shore leave, the rise of digital recruitment scams, oversupply of labour, and the ever-present threat of abandonment at sea.

Participants shared that shore leave is increasingly being curtailed by various factors. Sometimes shipping companies or agents appear to prioritise only the senior officers for shore passes and outings. 

“Only Captain and Officers are taken care of well by the company and the other ordinary seafarers are deprived of their shore leave” 

In other cases, operational demands and skeletal crewing mean that by the time a port is reached, everyone is busy with arrival or departure duties. 

“More work at the time of arrival and departure, this means no leisure to go ashore when the ships call at a port.” 

There were also reports that even when shore leave is granted, it may be highly restricted. 

“Shore passes are given on a rotational basis.” 

This might sound fair in principle, but in practice it can mean some crew members do not get ashore for many months if port stays are short or if rotation is mismanaged.

“Sometimes no money makes shore leave pointless.” 

“Some agents ask money for issuing shore passes.”

Emerging risks include digital recruitment scams, oversupply of trained seafarers relative to jobs, and the continuing threat of abandonment at sea. 

The workshop revealed deep gaps in protection: weak enforcement by government regulators, unresponsive unions, almost no local maritime legal aid in Tuticorin, and very little  awareness of complaint mechanisms. Overall, discussions underscored a stark protection gap between laws on paper and remedies in practice, and the urgent need for stronger enforcement, accessible support, and accountable recruitment systems for Indian seafarers.