TOPIC : "The Role of Maritime Bodies in the post COVID-19 ERA”

Jagmeet is a ship finance and bareboat lease consultant, educator and a maritime arbitrator. He has vast hands-on experience in ship management, conversions, newbuilding of ships, ship sale and purchase, chartering, and marketing to acquire cargo contracts. Armed with an MSc in Energy, Trade & Finance from Cass Business School, Jagmeet is a member of the Hong Kong Maritime Arbitration Group, fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators, member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, supporting member of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association, He is a council member of the Hong Kong Centre of International Commercial Arbitration and Chairman of the Maritime and Logistics Arbitration at HKCICA. He is a Fellow of a number of professional institutions such as the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, Royal Institute of Naval Architects and Institute of Marine Engineers. He has been awarded the “Exemplary Multi-Faceted Professional of the Year” by the Sailor Today, in 2017. He is also a lifetime member of the ΒΓΣ (Beta Gamma Sigma), an academic honor society.

Captain Ramaswamy is a Master Mariner with rich experience in various facets of the Maritime Industry.He is a well-known face in the industry, with a vast network spanning industry organisations, shipowners, ship managers, ship yards and other service providers.

Gautam is a millennial and is a self-confessed “worshiper of technology” and a “digital thinker”. Being vocal with his views on how technology must urgently intervene in the evolution of the maritime industry, by making drastic changes to its very foundations, makes him no stranger to controversy.

He is also an Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and The Nautical Institute. He is a Committee Member of the Nautical Institute's Hong Kong Branch..

Capt. Prashar is an Indian entrepreneur who has promoted technical ship management business in India and is the Founder & Managing Director of VR Maritime Services Pvt Ltd.

He serves the below positions in his current capacity.

• ✓ Member of National Shipping Board – Highest advisory body on matters related to Shipping and Infrastructure (Ports)
• ✓ Founder member of Himachali Seafarers Association
• ✓ Chairman of International Maritime Federation (IMF)
• ✓ Presently working with National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi for Indian Seafarers.
• ✓ Works with Thinktank FINS (Forum for Integrated National Security) as Vice President and specializing in Maritime Security & Seafarers Rights.
• ✓ Founder member of Maritime Trainers Guild (MTG)
• ✓ CMMI Warden elected for 2 Years (2019-2021)

He was Declared as “The Shipping Tribune Person of the Year” in 2017 & India Today nominated him as one of the 44 unsung Heroes of India in 2019. He has participated in policy making decisions with Ministry of Shipping. As Indian delegation went to Iran in June 2016 to meet Iranian Shipping Minister as well as assist relief for more than 500 stranded Indian Seafarers. Worked on Policy related matters with Ministry of Shipping.

He is a leading voice for the various maritime conferences and events across the world and also a frequent speaker at schools & colleges imparting knowledge to the future mariners.

Capt. Tandon is currently appointed as Global Director – Industrial Relations and Seafarer Development for V Group Manpower Services. Previously, he had set up the V Ships offices in India and served as the Managing Director up to 2017.

Capt. Tandon holds several honorary positions in the Maritime Industry in Training, Seafarer Welfare organizations, industrial relation matters and other professional bodies.

Some of the key positions held are:

• ✓ Director and Immediate Past Chairman of International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC).
• ✓ Director and Past Chairman of Foreign Owners Representatives’ & Ship Managers Association
• ✓ Trustee, Seafarers’ Provident Fund Organisation.
• ✓ Fellow of the Nautical Institute and founder member of NI India Chapter
• ✓ Fellow of the Company of Master Mariners (India).

Sanjam Sahi Gupta is Director for Sitara Shipping Ltd. and an Advocate for Diversity in the Maritime Industry.She is a founder member of WISTA India and Board Member of WISTA International as well as a member of the Executive Board of Directors of the World Maritime University Malmo, Sweden].She has won several awards most prominent being the Sandvik Gender Award –for her outstanding contribution and commitment to gender equalityGlenmark Pharmaceuticals awarded her “Woman of the Year 2019” in March 2019.

In June 2019 she was invited as part of a High Level panel initiative by The Norwegian Prime Minister, Erna Solberg for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, comprising a group of world leaders from coastal states committed to ocean action in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In February 2020, she has been named as one of the top 100 women in shipping by All About Shipping UK..

Arathi Narayanan is an honours’ graduate in law, post graduate in Maritime Law - University of Southampton. At present employed with ABS Marine Services Pvt Ltd as Head of Administration.

ABS Marine Services is a ship owning and ship management company and has over the past 27 years diversified itself to include various maritime services – viz., Third Party Crew and Technical Management, Ship Inspection, Sale and Purchase Service, New Build Supervision, Survey & Certification Liasoning, Chartering & Agency Liasoning, Dry dock Service, Ocean Towage & Port Facilitation Services.

Having been exposed to various verticals within the company viz recruitment of ship & shore personnel, safety & quality systems, purchase & finance management, Arathi Narayanan is currently in charge of administrative & legal affairs, while implementing system change by leveraging technology to suit the need.

A delegate at various conferences organised by CMMI, IMEI, NI and other Shipping organisations, she is currently on the board of the following organisations:

• ✓National Treasurer for Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (India)
• ✓Board Member of Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers – East India Branch

Mr. Punit Oza has worked in commercial shipping for last 27 years and is currently the Executive Director of Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) and also sits on the board of Klaveness Asia Pte Ltd as a non-executive director. He has been closely involved with the Digital Transformation Journey of Klaveness Dry Bulk and is also a brand ambassador for MPA Singapore’s Maritime Digitalization Playbook (MDP), helping companies digitalize themselves.

Punit holds a Masters in Shipping, Trade and Finance from CASS Business School and an LLB from University of London. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS), UK and is currently the Vice Chairman of the Singapore Branch. He is also a Senior Adjunct Fellow in Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) Academy and a guest lecturer at Singapore Management University.

General Secretary-Cum-Treasurer of National Union of Seafarers of India. Organizing more than 80,000 Indian seafarers throughout India working on Indian and foreign flagships.

Trade Union Experience: Aware of Trade unionism since birth as –

• ✓Great Grandfather was Founder-General Secretary of NUSI and the Father of the Seafarers Movement in India.
• ✓Grandfather was General Secretary of NUSI.
• ✓Father was Assistant General Secretary of NUSI.
• ✓Fourth Generation of my family proudly connected with NUSI.
• ✓ Member, National Welfare Board, and Seafarers Provident Fund Office, statutory bodies of the Government of India.
• ✓ Member of the Court of Indian Maritime University (IMU).
• ✓Represented India on national and international Committee meetings including the Conferences of International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO).
• ✓Member of Final Drafting Committee of ILO Convention 185 Seafarers Identity Document in Geneva 2003.
• ✓ Executive Board Member of International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), Vice-Chair of the Asia Pacific Seafarers Regional Committee (APSRC) and Asia Pacific Regional Committee (APRC) of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF)
• ✓ Trustee of the ITF Seafarers Trust.
• ✓ Have signed various settlements for seafarers on Indian and foreign flagships including Norwegian, Singapore, Hong Kong, Geneva, and other international agreements.

Primary Objective: To maintain NUSI as a strong driving force in the Indian Shipping Industry.