Kandla Port excels in welfare of seafarers

At a three-day assessment seminar of the International Committee for Seafarers Welfare (ICSW), held at Hotel Trident, Willingdon Island, Kochi, from May 6 to 8, the welfare activities at Kandla Port were declared as a Role Model for other ports to follow, Exim News Service informs.
In addition, Mr Joseph Chacko, the Administrator-cum-Treasurer of Kandla Seafarers’ Welfare Association, was nominated as the Administrator of Regional Welfare Committee of South Asia.
The Welfare Association, under the guidance of Mr P. D. Vaghela, Chairman of Kandla Port, Mr M. A. Bhaskarachar, Deputy Chairman of Kandla Port, and under the leadership of Capt. H. K. Sibal, provides facilities and activities such as daily ship visits, free Internet and email services, free transportation, library and reading room, print-outs of daily international newspapers, international telephone provision, spiritual encouragement and soft drinks and snacks to seafarers visiting Kandla Port.

This was the final assessment meeting of ICSW for the Regional Programme in South Asia. It marked the end of the $2.5-million development phase of this programme which has worked for the benefit of seafarers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Seafarers are the unsung heroes of the modern trade. Their work provides the necessities of life, yet they are often forgotten. Professional and competent men and women spend months at a time on board ships and need services when they call in port and to make their time on ship a home as well as their workplace.

The South Asia programme has worked with stakeholders in ports like Kandla to improve the facilities available to seafarers when they call in the port. It has concentrated upon capacity building of local committees and provided funding for transport, ship visiting and communication facilities.

Seafarers visiting ports in the region can look forward to better services as a result of this programme. Not all the projects have been completed, but a few at Kandla, Chennai, Tuticorin and Visakhapatnam are complete and welfare activities are in full swing. They have been funded by the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, a UK-registered grant-making charity.

The ICSW is an umbrella charity, based in UK, encompassing seafarers’ welfare agencies, unions and employers. Its tripartite structure, which includes government welfare agencies, provides support for organisations who want to improve the welfare of seafarers.
(source:www.transportweekly.com)