India, in Infographics: Maritime & Trade
The World’s Ships Increasingly Run On Indian Officers
The Licensed Officers Who Command And Engineer The World’s Merchant Fleet, By Nationality (2026). India Has Climbed To No. 2, Behind Only The Philippines. The World Will Need 113,735 More Certified Officers By 2030 — An Opening India Is Racing To Fill, Even As Global Supply (2.57M) Barely Covers Demand (2.55M).
Merchant-Marine Officers By Nationality, 2026. India Is Highlighted; The Other Four Are The Next-Largest Suppliers. The Five Together Account For 56.25% Of The Global Seafarer Workforce. Source: BIMCO–ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026.
India’s World Rank
#2
Up From 5th A Decade Ago — Now Behind Only The Philippines.
Indian Seafarers In All
311,936
12.16% Of The Global Workforce — 140,718 Officers Plus 171,218 Ratings.
Officer Share Since 2015
+7 Pts
India’s Slice Of The World’s Officers Has Jumped From 5.2% To 13.4%.
The Stated Target
Mission 20%
India Aims To Supply One In Five Of The World’s Seafarers.
What The Numbers Say
India Is Becoming The World’s Crew. A Decade Ago It Ranked Fifth And Supplied Just 5.2% Of The World’s Ship Officers; Today It Is Second, With 13.4% — And Climbing Toward A Stated 20%. With The Fleet Facing A Widening Officer Shortage, The Country That Trains The Mariners Gains Quiet Leverage Over The Trade That Moves On Ships — Which Is Why Seafarer Safety Now Sits In India’s Diplomacy.
The Global Shipping Industry
80%+ Of World Trade Goes By Sea
More Than Four-Fifths Of Global Merchandise Trade, By Volume, Moves On Ships.
~45% Flies Just Three Flags
Liberia (17.4%), Panama (15.2%) And The Marshall Islands (12.5%) Register Nearly Half The World’s Tonnage.
Greece Owns The Most — 16.4%
The Single Largest Ship-Owning Nation, Ahead Of Japan; China With Hong Kong Reaches 20.2%.
54% Of Freight Is From The Global South
Developing Economies Now Handle 54% Of Maritime Freight, Up From 38% In 2000.
How This Was Built
The Workforce
Officer Counts By Nationality And India’s Total, Share And Historical Rank Are From The BIMCO–ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026, Which Also Gives Global Supply (2.57M), Demand (2.55M) And The 113,735 Officers The Fleet Will Need By 2030.
The Industry
Flags, Ownership, The 80%+ Of Trade Carried By Sea And The 54% Handled By Developing Economies Are From UNCTAD’s Review Of Maritime Transport 2025 (Ownership Data As Of January 2025; Freight Split For 2023).
Sources: BIMCO–ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026; UNCTAD Review Of Maritime Transport 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
