India has joined an international initiative to digitise seafarer certification, marking a significant step towards streamlining the verification of maritime qualifications and combating fraudulent documentation across the global shipping industry.
The Directorate General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) has signed an agreement with the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and Lloyd’s Register OneOcean to pilot the ISF Verify platform, a cloud-based system designed to securely share and verify seafarers’ certificates.
India, which supplies approximately 312,000 seafarers, is the world’s second-largest source of maritime personnel. Together with the Philippines, which has already completed a proof of concept for the platform, the two countries account for around 30% of the estimated 2.57 million seafarers worldwide.
The ISF Verify platform enables seafarers, flag administrations, shipping companies and port state control authorities to securely access and verify certification records. The initiative is expected to help reduce fraudulent certificates, simplify endorsement procedures and speed up the verification of professional qualifications.
Under the agreement, India will explore integrating its existing seafarer certification system with ISF Verify through an Application Programming Interface (API). This would allow seafarers to synchronise their qualifications with the platform while retaining control over access to their personal information.
ICS Secretary-General Thomas Kazakos described India’s participation as a major milestone for ISF Verify and the wider transition towards trusted digital certification across the shipping industry.
Sushil Khopde, Additional Director General of Maritime Administration, said the initiative aims to improve seafarer mobility, reduce administrative costs and maintain India’s national control over certification data.
The agreement was signed at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) headquarters in London this week, strengthening international efforts to establish a more transparent, efficient and secure digital framework for seafarer certification.