Padmanabha Krishnan | International Maritime Academy (original) (raw)

Papers by Padmanabha Krishnan

Linkedin, 2020

What about veracity of his theory? For Charu Mazumdar in Bengal, there were Ajitha and KR Gowri i... more What about veracity of his theory? For Charu Mazumdar in Bengal, there were Ajitha and KR Gowri in Kerala. In their own state, they don’t work. Each village has a Gorky Center or AK Gopalan Centre, where they talk about the suppression of Cuba by Americans when their sisters remain unmarried at 39 and brothers are still in tutorials. Both eat fish curry rice and alternatively vote for Congress / TMC and Left Front. They lynch and die for the party. Party offices are more sacred than temples. You can decide.

Starboard Strategies, 2020

In perpetual tribute to the departed souls of Late Col. B Santosh Babu of the Bihar regiment, Hav... more In perpetual tribute to the departed souls of Late Col. B Santosh Babu of the Bihar regiment, Havildar Palani and Sepoy Ojha and seventeen other soldiers who laid down their lives in Galwan Valley in Ladakh for securing the borders of India from the Chinese barbarians who used barbed wire studded clubs against our army men, the Citizens of India have unanimously avowed not to use any Chinese products, whereas all the repeated warnings contained in my trailing Email dated Wed 10-06-2020 14:48 notwithstanding and despite forwarding specific MHA Advisory against Zoom, a dubious organization like the so called International Maritime Federation has railroaded the Honorable Minister of Shipping and the learned Directorate General of Shipping into the perilous quagmire of Zoom, the lethal Chinese Videoconference Software, that has by now possibly downloaded all our Ministry’s data into their Beijing-based servers. It was a calamity that the Honorable Minister of Shipping did not pay heed to my well informed advice and did participate in the Webinar hosted by International Maritime Federation for their own vested interests on the weird Chinese Zoom technology, exposing the nation to the horrors of State-sponsored cyber-hacking, as the attached screenshots may throw light if you like. Of course, the Honorable Minister of Shipping is not aware Zoom directs all the user data of the conference participants to servers based in China, where it isn’t safe under their law, as China doesn’t enforce many laws protecting users’ privacy. But Sir, you were well informed well in time.

Starboard Strategies, 2019

In India ways of corruption are blocked by use of vast variety of chemical based trapping methods... more In India ways of corruption are blocked by use of vast variety of chemical based trapping methods or techniques, which involves the use of fluorescent dyes, starch powder and phenolphthalein powder, but the chemical of choice is phenolphthalein powder because it is most common, colorless, easily available and its chemistry is favorable for trapping method because it is weak acid and in unionized form it is colorless and sign of changing of colorless mode to pink indicate its ionization. Persistence of pink color during court proceedings is the major issue because, because when the court asked for proof regarding transfer of phenolphthalein and its identification, so concerning to the chemistry of phenolphthalein the pink color in ionized form is persistent for longer period if phenolphthalein is combined with hydroquinone, as well as this technique blocks the way of criminal's plea regarding the use of laxative. So the color persistency for court trials as well as no way outs for culprit, these problems can be vanished and color of phenolphthalein can be maintained for a long period time with the help of hydroquinone. Keyword: Trap case, laxative material and phenolphthalein.

Maritime training in India has an excellent international reputation and all the institutions and... more Maritime training in India has an excellent international reputation and all the institutions and training centers are
accredited institutions offering STCW-95 compliant courses. However, the capacity of these training
institutions has not been matched by the availability of sufficient training berths for significant numbers of trainees
to gain the required amount of sea-time. Whilst it is essential that Indian ratings are equipped with STCW-95
qualifications, and colored officers enter the labor market there is little point in providing formal
training in the absence of opportunities to accumulate sea time. The anomaly is that there is a shortage of skilled
seafarers in key areas such as tankers, and offshore vessels particularly on regional routes. Many companies are
flagging out because of the excessive and unrealistic controls, permits, red tape and strapping fee structure of
DG Shipping and Indian Register of Shipping. On the one hand the training berths are shrinking and on the other
hand the tonnage too shrinks ever since the reactionary regimes of Kiran Dhingra and Satish Agnithotri set their
cactus feet in the Jahaz Bhavan. The Utopian dream of Tonnage Tax showering training berths is almost a non-starter.

Maritime shipping is probably one of the oldest businesses in the world. It is also by nature per... more Maritime shipping is probably one of the oldest businesses in the world. It is also by nature perhaps the most international business. It cannot be regulated by any national law because its activities go far beyond the borders of any nation. There are many international conventions and protocols that regulate safety and security of maritime operations and protection of the marine environment. There is no international police force to ensure compliance of the provisions of these treaties. Member states of the International Maritime Organization, being parties to the instruments implement them in their role both as flag state of the ship concerned and port state where the vessel may call. The responsibilities are complementary to one another. It is the primary responsibility of the flag state to ensure that ships comply with all international safety requirements no matter where they are. It is the responsibility of the port state to ensure similar compliance by all ships operating within its jurisdiction. As per IMO, Port State Control (PSC) is the inspection of foreign ships in national ports to verify that the condition of the ship and its equipment comply with the requirements of international regulations and that the ship is manned and operated in compliance with these rules. This ensures that as many ships as possible are inspected but at the same time prevents ships being delayed by unnecessary inspections. The primary responsibility for ships' standards rests with the flag State-but port State control provides a "safety net" to catch substandard ships.

Pre-employment medical examination is compul¬sory for merchant seamen, commercial divers, and pil... more Pre-employment medical examination is compul¬sory for merchant seamen, commercial divers, and pilots. But fishermen require neither exam¬ination nor even health screening—an omission which is at variance with MOS requirements for seafarers and with occupational health practice elsewhere. One fifth of all deaths of fishermen at sea are due to undisclosed disease.

One leading specialist marine insurance intermediary recently spoke out on reported doubts about ... more One leading specialist marine insurance intermediary recently spoke out on reported doubts about the insurance industry’s ability to insure the liability for unpaid wages of abandoned seafarers under the Maritime Labor Convention 2006. We are sure reports were both inaccurate and ill-founded.

It is already an agreed principle under MLC 2006, which came into force in August 2013, that liability for the unpaid wages of seafarers currently, falls to the recruitment and placement service providers that help seafarers find employment at sea. Some have rightly argued that this is a misdirected arrow and that it is the ship-owner/employer, and not the agent, that should assume this liability.

In a positive move, it is now understood that recent tripartite talks between owners, unions and governments at the ILO headquarters in Geneva has finally addressed this issue, with talks initiated to concentrate on the specific inclusion of unpaid crew wages in the ship owner’s MLC obligation to repatriate crew in cases of abandonment.

The fact is that any cover that does not provide for the indemnification of unpaid wages fails to adequately protect seafarers against the real risk of abandonment. Effective employment protection must include crew wages, without which seafarers risk becoming the cash flow casualties of their employers’ insolvencies. It has been suggested by some industry commentators that insurance to cover unpaid wages would be unfeasibly expensive for owners, and that in any case it is only those owners who are likely to default who will need the cover. This is wrong on both counts. Firstly, some insurance policies launched earlier this year provide comprehensive cover at low cost, with premiums of as little as $50 per seafarer per year available today.

Secondly, the point about only bad owners requiring cover in respect of unpaid wages is immaterial, since the proposed requirement for cover will be mandatory on all ship-owners. Mandating the requirement in this way will force out of business those owners who - it is claimed - ‘need the cover’, as they will be unable to obtain the requisite financial security called for by MLC.

If you cannot pay your crew, you should not put your ship to sea. It is that simple. Any arguments to the contrary would serve to do our industry a disservice. Unfortunately, without the proposed amendments, there is currently no meaningful deterrent to this premise.

The fact is that affordable cover in respect of the indemnification of unpaid wages is available, and it is available now. It is in the best interests of the industry and seafarers alike that responsible owners support the ratification and early adoption of the draft amendments to MLC in this regard

The mantra that “owners who cannot pay their crew should not put ships to sea”, is a compelling one. It also provides an insight into an industry which has a rather schizophrenic view of its relationships. On one hand the globalised economy has used shipping as the conveyor belt to drive progress – but at what professional and human cost to seafarers? On the other, the economies have conveniently forgotten the plight of the ill-paid / unpaid seafarer and his family left to starvation diet.

According to experts the relatively simple notion of shipping has developed into a complex multi-layered network with many global players and stakeholders added to the original and basic “shipper-carrier-consignee” relationship.

According to a recent thought provoking piece in Lloyd’s List shipping is now at a very complex and often confused crossroads – a situation which has seen the shipping industry become a labyrinth of roles and responsibilities, of liabilities, threats and opportunities.

Overcapacity, fierce competition, volatile freight rates and hungry investors combine with a human element of seafarers, shore professionals, pirates and lawyers, et al to create a potential recipe for disaster if not managed effectively. With growing ship sizes, increasing pressures and even changing weather patterns there are seemingly so many more questions than answers.

Lloyd’s List is seemingly using its new “digital only” format to good effect, and is increasingly positioning itself as the voice of industry common-sense. The “paper”, recently assessed the issue of “how to be a good Ship-owner” and provided a host of recommended do’s and don’ts - which relate directly to the way in which the “good ship-owner” looks out for the seafarers who keep the ships moving. They stressed that a good owner “does not leave his crew stranded in Suez for six months without pay or supplies, blaming his banks for the crisis”. The good owner also “doesn’t regard the Maritime Labor Convention as a nuisance that requires minimum attention”.

Given the “good owner” test, how can ship-owners adapt to the bewildering array of today’s business pressures? The need to deliver across the seas, just-in-time, and to a schedule which would challenge modes which do not have to contend with wind, wave and pirates is an incredible challenge in itself. But to do so in a fluctuating market ridden by recurring crises with bigger ships, smaller crews and with a lengthening list of legislation, rules, regulations and demands…and with a need to turn a profit, well that requires nothing short of herculean effort to manage.

Such challenges highlight the need for the shipping industry to work together, and uppermost in this is the clear need for employers (owners) and employees (seafarers) to ensure that even in the tumultuous external world, then there’s a calm, respectful and effective relationship. It seems that sadly many are falling at this initial hurdle, even with the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) as a template for minimum standards.

Seafarers are the life blood of the industry – but increasingly are being seen as a cost centre, rather than a major asset. According to one observer, Janusz Fedorowicz, many seafarers face recruitment based on costs rather than on proper training and experience. This would be a recipe for disaster in a staid and stable industry, within an environment such as shipping it is nothing short of staggering – and is hugely depressing to boot.

Increasingly crew is being separated from the realities of business, the cargoes they move, and are removed from the processes of shipping. This means that they are seen simply as part of the mechanics of the process, not the management of it. This in turn makes it harder for those ashore without maritime experience to truly recognize the value of good seafarers and their role in ensuring support, professional assistance and training. It is all too easy for seafarers to be seen as a problem, rather than a means to a solution.

Shipping is teetering on the brink in its relationships with its seafarers. Indeed all too often the modern seafarer has little room for exercising initiative, or demonstrating prowess and professionalism. The good Captain is the one who shuts up and delivers on time and without incident or any calls on company cash. And while such a sentiment makes business sense, it is only the real professionals that can make such a challenging role seem almost mundane and invisible.

The best crew becomes the archetypal swan, serene on the water – but frantically paddling underneath, unseen – and alas unrecognized. Indeed, there is a real danger that the industry is becoming ever more distrusting of real quality, training and experience, save for satisfying charterer demands.

There has to be a step change and a reassessment of the ship-shore relationship. It would be wholly positive that wages can be the catalyst for such revision. Owners and their shore managers should reflect on the remuneration issues, to ensure they can appreciate the real work that goes into keeping their ships running, their cargoes moving and the cash flowing. They should then ensure that they do everything possible, practicable to ensure that wages are paid and safeguarded – it is to be hoped that with MLC having come into force, then the developments and amendments slated for future will finally provide the obligations necessary to facilitate real positive change.

It is not just us trying to stress the importance of seafarers in the business of shipping. It is all about the shipping industry’s focus on the human element or about the ignorance of it.

After several years of murmurs regarding the financial viability of the Shipping Corporation of I... more After several years of murmurs regarding the financial viability of the Shipping Corporation of India, there appears to be clarity within the government on the urgency for some key structural reforms that have plagued the sector for long. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is said to be taking a keen interest in all matters related to shipping. During a recent meeting with shipping secretary, the prime minister made several suggestions that now form part of a comprehensive action plan for India’s maritime sector. After several years, there appears to be clarity within the government on the urgency for some key structural reforms that have plagued the sector for long. Established in 1961, the Shipping Corporation of India started out as a martial liner shipping company with just 19 vessels. Today the company has metamorphosed into a giant conglomerate having 83 ships with substantial interests in 10 different segments of the shipping trade. Arunkumar Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, SCI, said the management will request the government to retain the Navratna status, as the company suffered losses because of the prolonged recession in shipping. If it were true how come Great Eastern Shipping was not affected by the great depression? They have flourished while SCI has floundered. In the given circumstances, should SCI continue to enjoy the coveted Navaratna Status? According to the Navratna norms, the company has to report profits for continuous three years to be eligible for the covetous status.

Starboard Strategies, Mar 1, 2014

The Present MET in India is expensive and a majority of the attempt made in this ... more The Present MET in India is expensive and a majority of the
attempt made in this editorial is only an impassive and
Institutes do not appear to be prepared to “trim the ship” so
impartial appraisal of the training coordinates of the maritime
that MET can cope with the challenges which the changing
industry and to make recommendations for action of the
environmental conditions are creating or have already
concerned at all the three levels. created. If these challenges are not met then a further loss of Existing problems jobs and decline in quality of services will take place and maritime expertise in India will suffer to an alarming extent.

There are three levels of policy and decision making in respect of MET: the political, the admini... more There are three levels of policy and decision making in respect of MET: the political, the administrative and the institutional level. The political level comprises the EU, national or regional governments, the administrative level consists of national maritime and higher education authorities, the institutional level is represented by MET institutions. There is also a three-level hierarchy policy making -decision making -implementation that corresponds with fairly broad aspects on the top and fairly narrow aspects on the bottom level. This report contains recommendations on all three levels. 3

That the Indian MET has not been fulfilling its customers' aspirations is everyone's concern. If ... more That the Indian MET has not been fulfilling its customers' aspirations is everyone's concern. If anything is to be done, it requires the collective will of three cornerstones of the program for the purpose of decision making, execution and implementationthe political, the administrative and the institutional elements of the MET Administration. The political level comprises the Government, the administrative level consists of DG Shipping and the institutional level is represented by Maritime Training institutions, IMU and its campuses included. There is also a three-level of hierarchy -policy making, execution and implementation that corresponds with fairly broad aspects on the top and fairly narrow aspects at the bottom level. The attempt made in this editorial is only an impassive and impartial appraisal of the training coordinates of the maritime industry and to make recommendations for action of the concerned at all the three levels.

Linkedin, 2020

Starboard Strategies, 2020

Starboard Strategies, 2019

It is not just us trying to stress the importance of seafarers in the business of shipping. It is all about the shipping industry’s focus on the human element or about the ignorance of it.

Starboard Strategies, Mar 1, 2014

The search for Adrianus turned west toward the islands after the Singapore Maritime Crisis Centre... more The search for Adrianus turned west toward the islands after the Singapore Maritime Crisis Centre (SMCC) chief said their military radar had detected an unidentified vessel suspected to be the lost Adrianus to the west of Malaysia early on Saturday. The SMCC observers reported that the unidentified container ships appeared to be following a commonly used navigational route that would take it over the islands.

On cue from the Singapore Maritime Security (MARSEC) agency the Indian Navy had deployed two Dornier super containers to fly across the island chain, a total area of 720 km (447 miles by 52 km) but according to Indian military spokesman Harmeet Singh, reporting in the state capital, Port Blair, the super containers, and a helicopter searching the coast, had found nothing.

In the days after Sept. 11, doomsday scenarios like a nuclear attack on Manhattan suddenly seemed... more In the days after Sept. 11, doomsday scenarios like a nuclear attack on Manhattan suddenly seemed plausible. But during the six months that followed, as the U.S. struck back and the anthrax scare petered out and the fires at Ground Zero finally died down, the national nightmare about another calamitous terrorist strike went away.
The terrorists did not. Counter-terrorism experts and government officials interviewed by Time say that for all the relative calm since Sept. 11, America's luck will probably run out again, sooner or later. "It's going to be worse, and a lot of people are going to die," warned a U.S. counter-terrorism official. "I don't think there's a damn thing we're going to be able to do about it."

Auditing is a central element of any accountability system, as it verifies and legitimizes the in... more Auditing is a central element of any accountability system, as it verifies and legitimizes the information based on which organisations are to be judged (Power 1997). Audits, when performed well, therefore help public institutions to act in accordance with the principles of accountability and integrity, improve their performance and earn the confidence of citizens (Assakaf, Samsudin and Othman 2018)

Starboard Strategies, 2019

Admiralty Maritime Law of India – a Preview and Review India has built up a magnificent maritime ... more Admiralty Maritime Law of India – a Preview and Review
India has built up a magnificent maritime history and tradition for several decades even much before the rise of European maritime powers. In ancient period, Indian ships used to sail across many international high seas for trading purposes with other Asian and Middle East countries. But after the advent of British rule, the indigenous shipping industry was considerably discouraged due to preferential treatment given to the British ships and restrictive British navigational systems.
The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill 2016 which repeals five obsolete British statutes on admiralty jurisdiction in civil matters, namely,
(a) Admiralty Court Act, 1840
(b) Admiralty Court Act, 1861,
(c) Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1890,
(d) Colonial Courts of Admiralty (India) Act, 1891, and
(e) the provisions of the Letters Patent, 1865,
Applicable to the admiralty jurisdiction of the Bombay, Calcutta and Madras High Courts.
What is Admiralty Maritime Law of India ?
The Admiralty law governs maritime questions and offenses.
It is a body of both domestic laws governing maritime activities and private international law governing the relationships between private entities that operate vessels on the oceans.

Verified dismantlement of the nuclear weapons program of the Democratic People’s Republic of... more Verified dismantlement of the nuclear weapons program of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) can be accomplished successfully. Although difficulties abound in reaching an agreement with the DPRK to achieve this goal, the methods and steps involved in the dismantlement process are well understood. DPRK officials have also declared that the state is developing its nuclear weapons capabilities, including increasing the quantity and improving the quality of its nuclear arsenal. Currently, the DPRK has the capability to produce enough new plutonium for roughly one to two more nuclear weapons per year in its 5-megawatt electric reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear center. The DPRK’s reported uranium enrichment program may eventually give it the capability to make enough highly enriched uranium for several nuclear weapons per year. If the DPRK finishes its 50-megawatt electric reactor at Yongbyon, this reactor could produce enough plutonium for ten nuclear weapons each year.

Starboard Strategies, 2020

At the outset, I take this opportunity to welcome you to the Indian Maritime Administration, the ... more At the outset, I take this opportunity to welcome you to the Indian Maritime Administration, the right citadel for ship safety andseafarers' rights. And I am sure under your able stewardship, theDirectorate will reach logical heights in reaching the pinnacle of glory in achieving the motto of safer ships, cleaner oceans and happy seafarers. As the original architect of the DGS eGovernance Project during 2005-08, I have unforgettable memories of having rolled out the first seafarers' module before time in February 2008. And it was the first-ever seafarers module brought out boldly online in the world by the National Administration. Since then few nations have followed suit though the Indian eGovernance module for seafarers will continue to be the best, despite concerted efforts of a few at the helm of affairs, whose IT expertise never reaches the Notepad or any other ASCI Editor for hardcore programming ever since they came to hear of progamming to wither down the technical soundness of the modules by 'Cut and Paste' approach however inappropriate in the context of the fast improving Java technology after its takeover by Oracle in 2009 and it merger with the RDBMS, on whose edifice the DGS eGovernance stands. What some inane authority with no technical knowledge tries to tweedle with the eGovernance is tantamount to throwing the spanner in the works for whom the fulcrum of the issues lies in the Edit button of the Profile module of the RPS System. In their own wisdom they thought that removal of the Edit button will scare away all the vices of the system, not aware that core modules of a system are the cornerstones of the Java architecture with a hundred and one and the whole backend including the RDBMS on which the module rests will collapse like a castle of cards. These super-users-if you want to know who they are, consult the developers of the system-in their attempt to turn over a new leaf have removed the fulcrum of the module. They need to know HTTP protocol and Web Servers are stateless, what it means is that for web servers every request is a new request to process and they can't identify if it's coming from a client that has been sending requests previously. But sometimes in web applications, one should know who the client is and process the request accordingly. The eGovernance application should identify an RPS Provider from a seafarer who is sending the request to add a file in which file the item has to be added or who is sending a download request so that it can charge the amount to the correct client. If this basic security is not embedded in the server application the privacy issues of all the stakeholders namely ship owners, RPS Providers and Seafarers would have been compromised. The rule benders have no idea Session is a conversational state between client and server and it can consist of multiple requests and responses between client and server. Since HTTP and Web Server both are stateless, the only way to maintain a session is when some unique information about the session (session id) is passed between server and client in every request and response. There are several ways through which a Java Server provides a unique identifier in request and response. User Authentication-This is the very common way where an RPS user can provide authentication credentials from the login page and then we can pass the authentication information between server and client to maintain the session. This is not a very effective method because it won't work if the same user is logged in from different browsers. HTML Hidden Field-We can create a unique hidden field in the HTML and when the user starts navigating, we can set its value unique to the user and keep track of the session. This method can't be used with links because it needs the form to be submitted every time a request is made from client to server with the hidden field. Also it's not secure because we can get the hidden field value from the HTML source and use it to hack the session.

Starboard Strategies, 2016

The Andaman & Nicobar Port Management Board (PMBAN) has identified an opportunity to develop a co... more The Andaman & Nicobar Port Management Board (PMBAN) has identified an opportunity to develop a container trans-shipment hub to serve markets on the Indian Gujarat, including along the Fraser River, along the North West United States (together the Pacific North West, or PNW), and from there, further inland, including the US Mid-West.
The project, referred to as the Campbell Bay Trans-Shipment Hub (CBTH), is premised on a hub- and-spoke container trans-shipment operation concept.
The CBTH concept envisages a terminal of 400 acres with an annual capacity of 3.5 million TEUs (hub). From CBTH, coastal ports and terminals would primarily be served by feeder barge service (spokes).The CBTH project could be operational by 2022.
This report informs a broader assessment of the overall feasibility of the CBTH project.

Starboard Strategies, 2017

The content relating to economic impacts of the APA project was developed in part because of APA ... more The content relating to economic impacts of the APA project was developed in part because of APA project capital and operating cost estimates provided by Hatch engineering consultants and APA.
Unless otherwise stated, the opinions provided herein are those of and they do not necessarily reflect the views of APA or the Canadian federal government.
This report should be treated as confidential as it may contain material deemed commercially sensitive.
Executive Summary
Introduction
The Adani Port Authority (APA) has identified an opportunity to develop a container trans-shipment hub to serve markets on the Canadian West Coast, including along the Fraser River, along the North West United States (together the Pacific North West, or PNW), and from there, further inland, including the US Mid-West.
The project, referred to as the Port Adani Trans-Shipment Hub (APA), is premised on a hub- and-spoke container trans-shipment operation concept.
The APA concept envisages a terminal of 400 acres with an annual capacity of 3.5 million TEUs (hub). From APA, coastal ports and terminals would primarily be served by feeder barge service (spokes). The APA project could be operational by 2022.
This report informs a broader assessment of the overall feasibility of the APA project.