This comes after the Centre recently scrapped immigration procedures for sign-on, sign-off, and shore leave passes for Indian-origin seafarers aboard vessels on coastal routes.

This comes after the Centre recently scrapped immigration procedures for sign-on, sign-off, and shore leave passes for Indian-origin seafarers aboard vessels on coastal routes.

This comes after the Centre recently scrapped immigration procedures for sign-on, sign-off, and shore leave passes for Indian-origin seafarers aboard vessels on coastal routes.

The Kerala Maritime Board (KMB), which manages non-major port operations at the Vizhinjam Port in Thiruvananthapuram, is gearing up to upgrade facilities to host crew members.

This includes a seafarers' lounge with added space, in addition to a facilitation centre, a Times of India report said, citing a KMB official who said that an estimate was being prepared for the new changes.

“We have basic amenities in place as the operations were being carried out during the pandemic for two years,” the official said, pointing out that these would be inadequate when crew change operations pick up at the bustling transshipment port.

This comes after the Centre recently scrapped immigration procedures for sign-on, sign-off, and shore leave passes for Indian-origin seafarers aboard vessels on coastal routes carrying the Indian flag—as per a circular from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW).

While sign-on and sign-off mark the start and end of a seafarer's active service agreement onboard a vessel, shore leave is a period of paid leave for seafarers to go ashore and get a break from their official duties when their ships dock at ports.

What this does is decentralisation: it hands over the immigration responsibilities for these seafarers from the Centre to the individual port authorities, which speeds up the processes involved.

Doing so is also said to boost profits for both the Centre and state governments. Besides shipping agents, it will also benefit launch operators, transport providers, hotels, travel agencies, immigration facilitators, hospitals and other service providers catering to international seafarers.

The Bureau of Immigration has also been authorised to conduct surprise inspections on crew change operations and also seek crew lists from time-to-time.

The report also added that some final clearances and an SOP from the immigration department was needed to begin crew change operations, as per Vizhinjam Steamer Agents Association secretary Jude Sajith D’Cruz.

It added that the port will also undergo some repairs as it prepares a return to becoming one of India's premier crew change hubs again.

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