The sixth batch of a 20-member training team sent from Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) arrived in Japan on Wednesday for a training programme by the Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS).
The shipbuilder pointed out that women comprised half of this 20-member team, adding that it reflected "CSL's commitment to diversity and inclusive growth".
The training programme at the AOTS will take place over a period of almost two weeks—from November 5-17.
The programme is aimed at providing "an exposure to yard personnel on technological advancements in the global front", the shipbuilder said in an X post on Wednesday.
The 6th batch of 20 employees of CSL #embarked on the AOTS Japan Training Program. The program scheduled from 5-17 November 2025 in Japan, is aimed at providing an exposure to yard personnel on technological advancements in the global front as also an understanding of Japanese… pic.twitter.com/RPB9QIyCPU
— Cochin Shipyard Limited (@cslcochin) November 5, 2025
They will also be taught about the Japanese language, in addition to lessons about the Japanese culture and society, Japanese corporate culture, and methods of technology transfer.
The inclusion of women in India's maritime workforce was also a cause for concern expressed back in the 2024 edition of THE WEEK Maritime Conclave.
"If you look at the global scenario, it is 1.2 per cent. India is slightly better at 2 per cent of the total seafaring community. But the scenario is not very good. Even out of the 1.2 per cent, if you look at very closely, 94 per cent are women who are in passenger ships," J.P. Irene Cynthia IAS, managing director of Kamarajar Port Limited, had said at the time.
"We don't always have to be positively be partial towards women. But for a start, I think this can actually help more and more women enter the sector with confidence, with a safe ecosystem," she added, stating that more awareness about what she called an opaque sector like maritime would help bring in more participation from women.
This comes in line with India's maritime goals under the Maritime India Vision 2030 and the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
Did you know that India is now among the top-3 global suppliers of seafarers? Our trained maritime workforce surged past 3 lakh!@IMU_HQ@sarbanandsonwal@shipmin_india@TRBRajaa https://t.co/y8gVK36SEK
— THE WEEK (@TheWeekLive) September 27, 2025
In that regard, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Sarbananda Sonowal had said at the recently concluded THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2025 that Kerala's maritime facilities presented "immense potential for growth", which made the state a "true maritime gateway of India".
“Kerala has given India some of its finest seafarers, shipbuilders, and maritime professionals," he had said at the time, while praising Thiruvananthapuram's bustling Vizhinjam International Seaport, which is India’s first fully automated transshipment port.
