Though the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) has been one of the leading ports in the country for quite a while, especially in terms of tonnage and the number of vessels handled, it still does not have an independent Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) office headed by a Principal Officer (PO). The PO office in Visakhapatnam has been a subsidiary of the Chennai office ever since 1948.

While the Chennai PO office was established in 1929, the subsidiary office in Visakhapatnam was established barely 19 years later. Yet, till date a Principal Officer heads the PO in Chennai, while the subsidiary office in Vizag is headed by a surveyor.

Sources in the department disclosed that Visakhapatnam handles the maximum amount of ship traffic on the east coast and with two more deep draft ports located in Gangavaram and Kakinada, it is high time that Vizag region got an independent PO.

As per official statistics, VPT handled 59 million tonnes of cargo in 2012-13 and over 2,000 vessels. In stark contrast, Kochi, which houses an independent PO office, handled 19.84 million tonnes of cargo and less than half the number of vessels as VPT in the same fiscal. More importantly, the over 20,000 seafarers from north coastal Andhra have to go to Chennai or Kolkata to appear for examinations.

Elaborating on the responsibilities of the PO, Pritam Mohanty, former president, Visakhapatnam chapter of the Merchant Navy Officers Association (MNOA) said, "One of the main responsibilities of the MMD PO is to ensure that the norms of the International Maritime Organisation and the Maritime Shipping Act are adhered to. More importantly, a PO can also conduct exams for sailors and endorse them, apart from effectively checking the sea worthiness of ships."

"It is unfortunate that Vizag does not have a PO despite having VPT, Gangavaram Port and Kakinada Port, all within a 150 km stretch. More importantly, VPT ranks among the major ports. Things are so bad that we have only one surveyor here in Vizag. We have shot off many letters to the Union shipping ministry and other departments concerned, but unfortunately nothing has happened so far. This is probably because the representatives of the region do not lend their clout to the cause as they are insensitive to needs of the maritime community," he added.

According to a senior MMD official, there was definitely a need for a separate PO in Vizag and a sub-office in Kakinada. He also pointed out that exams for at least certain classes of seafarers and sailors must be held in Visakhapatnam as it becomes difficult for them to travel to Kolkata or Chennai after sailing for eight long months. The MMD official went on to add that thanks to measures taken by the department, exams for engineers (fourth grade) were now being conducted in Visakhapatnam.

B V Ratnam, inspector, International Transport Workers Federation, Vizag chapter, said, "On one hand, there is not enough push from the political circles of AP and on the other, with increasing amount of traffic, people are not opting to take up a surveyor's job as it is fraught with risks."

On the number of seafarers from the north coastal region alone, Ratnam said, "There are more than 30,000 people from the four districts of north coastal AP alone, while the number of seafarers from Kerala would amount to one third the number."

Members of the shipping community too feel their operations could become more efficient if there was a full-fledged PO in Vizag. GDR Mohan Rao, MD, Pattabhi Ramaiah Shipping Pvt Ltd and executive committee member, Steamship Agents Association, said, "It is impossible for just one or two surveyors to check the seaworthiness of ships and boats. IMO regulations will be better implemented if there is a PO in Vizag or the number of surveyors is increased. Currently, for every small permission the file has to be routed through Chennai."