Merchant Shipping Act, 2025: What Actually Changed for Seafarers (Plain-English Guide)

You’ve probably noticed “DGMA” replacing “DG Shipping” everywhere over the past few months — on circulars, on the new dgma.gov.in website, in exam notifications. That rename isn’t cosmetic. It comes from a real piece of legislation: the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025 (Act No. 24 of 2025), which replaced the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 — the law that had governed Indian shipping for nearly seven decades.

Most of what’s been written about this Act is aimed at ship owners and legal firms. This is the version for seafarers and aspirants: what changed, what it means for you specifically, and what stayed exactly the same.

The Basic Change: A New Name With Real New Powers

The Director-General of Shipping is now the Director-General of Maritime Administration (DGMA). This is not just a title change — the Act vests DGMA with additional powers, including the authority to issue binding directions to ship owners, agents, and ports, and to take direct enforcement action against defaulting owners, including confiscation of vessels in serious cases.

DGMA also holds general supervisory power over surveyors, shipping masters, and seafarer welfare officers, and can call for information and pass directions to ensure ports meet their obligations under the Act.

What Changed for Seafarer Welfare and Wages

This is the section that matters most day-to-day:

• Written employment agreements are now compulsory. No more verbal or informal arrangements — every seafarer must have a documented employment agreement.
• Monthly wage payment is a statutory requirement, and interest applies automatically if wages are delayed. This gives seafarers a much stronger legal footing if a company is late paying.
• Paid leave, repatriation, and compensation in the event of vessel loss are all guaranteed under the Act, not left to individual contract terms.
• Occupational health standards, access to medical care, and social security benefits are written into the law itself.
• Minimum age for employment onboard a vessel is set at 16 years. (Important distinction: this is the Act’s minimum for employment onboard a ship — it is separate from the admission eligibility age for DGMA-approved pre-sea courses, which remains 17 years for officer-track courses like DNS/GME/B.Sc NS and 17.5 years for GP Rating. Don’t confuse the two.)

What Changed for Training Institutes — This One Matters If You’re Choosing a College

The Act gives DGMA explicit power to:

• Inspect any maritime training institute through an authorised surveyor or officer
• Suspend or withdraw an institute’s approval if it is found to have contravened the Act’s provisions, based on the inspection report

This is directly relevant to the scam-institute problem that’s plagued Indian maritime education for years. The Act formalises DGMA’s authority to shut down non-compliant institutes — not just decline to approve new ones, but actively pull recognition from existing ones that fail to meet standards. If you’re evaluating a college, this is one more reason DGMA-approval status is worth verifying directly at dgma.gov.in rather than trusting a brochure claim.

What Changed for Ship Ownership (Why This Matters for Job Availability)

The Act significantly relaxed vessel ownership rules. Indian-flagged vessels can now be wholly or partially owned by:

• Indian citizens and companies
• Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)
• Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs)
• Registered co-operative societies

with the government prescribing thresholds for partial/joint-venture ownership. The stated intent — and the reasoning economists and maritime policy analysts have pointed to — is to grow India’s own tonnage and the pool of Indian-flagged vessels, which over time should mean more berths specifically reserved for or favouring Indian seafarers on Indian-flagged ships. This is a multi-year structural shift, not something that changes hiring next month, but it’s worth understanding if you’re thinking long-term about the industry’s direction.

What Changed for Compliance and Enforcement

The Act introduces a dual enforcement regime:

1. Administrative penalties — monetary penalties levied by a Principal Officer of the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) for straightforward contraventions
2. Formal criminal liability — serious offences go to a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, with the possibility of substantial fines and, in serious cases, criminal consequences

This creates a much clearer first-instance path for penalising violations than the older Act had.

What Changed for Abandoned Vessels (Relevant If You’ve Heard “Dark Ship” Stories)

The 1958 Act only covered abandoned vessels loosely, under the general category of “wreck.” The 2025 Act introduces a dedicated legal definition of “abandoned vessel” — covering not just the physical state of a ship, but situations where the owner cannot be traced, is insolvent, or has effectively cut ties by failing to meet safety, pollution, or seafarer welfare obligations. There’s now a cost-recovery mechanism: government expenses related to an abandoned vessel become a statutory debt recoverable from the sale of the vessel or its cargo. If you’ve read stories about Indian seafarers stranded on abandoned “dark ships,” this is the legal gap the new Act is specifically designed to close.

What Stayed the Same

• The National Shipping Board and National Welfare Board for Seafarers continue to exist and advise government, ensuring continuity in seafarer welfare oversight
• The requirement for certain officers to hold Certificates of Competency (CoC) is retained — DGMA continues to regulate maritime education, approve institutes, and set course standards, same as DGS did
• India’s obligations under major IMO conventions — MARPOL, the Ballast Water Management Convention, the Anti-Fouling Systems Convention, MLC, STCW — are all carried forward and, in fact, more comprehensively adopted under the new Act

What This Means for You, Practically

If you’re a serving seafarer: Your wage protection got stronger on paper — monthly payment plus interest on delays is now a statutory right, not just a contract term. If you’re facing delayed wages, this Act strengthens your position when raising the issue.

If you’re choosing a training institute: DGMA’s power to inspect and pull approval is real and active. A DGMA-approved badge on a website should be independently verified at dgma.gov.in, not taken at face value — and that verification matters more now that enforcement teeth exist.

If you’re thinking about long-term industry trends: The ownership rule changes are a genuine structural bet on growing India’s own shipping tonnage. It’s a multi-year story, not an instant one — but it’s the direction the policy is pointing.

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Have a specific question about how this Act affects your contract, wages, or institute choice?

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This article is for general information and does not constitute legal advice. For a specific dispute, consult a maritime lawyer or your union (NUSI/MUI).

— Sailor Success Team | helpme@sailorsuccess.online