Seafarers' Welfare Fund Society

e-Navik - 24X7 Grievance Redressal Mechanism is aligned with India's vision under Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030, which seeks to enhance India's share in the global seafaring workforce from the present level of around 12% to 20% and beyond, positioning India as a leading supplier of skilled maritime manpower. India today has over 7.5 lakh registered seafarers, of whom more than 3.2 lakh are actively employed across the globe, serving onboard vessels across diverse geographies and operating environments. Achieving this objective requires not only quality training and employment opportunities but also a robust welfare and protection framework that inspires confidence among seafarers and their families. Historically, India's maritime sector faced significant challenges arising from cases of abandonment of seafarers, fraudulent recruitment practices, shadow recruitment networks, illegal fee charging by unauthorised agents, deployment on substandard vessels, wage disputes, repatriation issues, and delays in grievance resolution. The existing grievance redressal framework, while effective in resolving many complaints, relied substantially on manual processes, multiple communication channels, email-based coordination, and spreadsheet tracking, resulting in limited real-time visibility, standardisation, and end-to-end monitoring.