IMS organized one day seminar at The Resort, Mumbai on 1st Feb’08 for its Sailing staff and their family. The focus of the seminar was on Enhancing Individual Excellence through Knowledge and spirituality and it had some excellent talk by Leading Industry Specialists, Psychologists. Motivational Speakers and Even Spiritual speakers from Brahma Kumari Organization.

IMS has a four decade long history of providing first rate employment opportunities for Indian Seafarers onboard foreign flag ships and This seminar was held for the Officers sailing onboard ships owned and managed by Navigazione Montanari, An European Principal employing Indian Seafarers through IMS in India.

The seminar was not only attended by the officers, but also saw active participation by their wives and family members. The speakers of the seminar were Mrs. Noami Rewari (Director, ARI), Ms. Chanda (Brahma Kumaris Organisation), Capt. N.N Jain (Head – Special Projects, Greatship India Ltd), Dr.S. Idnani (Chairman International Committee Seafarers’ Welfare ) and Capt. A.K Singh (P&I Club).

The Seminar started with a traditional lamp light ceremony. Mr. Murdia (G.M IMS Ship Management) welcomed the delegates. After a warm welcome Capt. S.C Sood (Managing Director) briefed the delegates about history of IMS and current scenario of IMS & the Shipping Industry. Capt. Sood in his speech appreciated the officers for their excellent work onboard Navigazione Montanari Ships since last four years. Capt. Sood in his speech mentioned that IMS has always given attractive wages with excellent terms & conditions with excellent working environment to its sailing staff. Capt Sood also informed about the seafarer’s demand-supply ratio in the industry, He said that “As more and more ships are being built, the demand for Indian officers is rising rapidly and the entire world is looking forward to Indian officers and crew”.

Mrs. Naomi Rewari, explained about various aspects and roles of seafarers while at home. She highlighted issues related to seafarers family and how seafarers can overcome small recurring problems both at sea and home with examples like Circle of Concern Vs Circle of control, Urgent Vs Important etc. It was more an interactive session and knowledge game than a lecture environment.

Capt. N.N Jain (Head – Special Projects, Greatship India Ltd ) highlighted the importance and various aspects of ISM Code. This technical session was followed by a spiritual lecture by Ms. Chanda ( Head, Santacruz Mumbai Branch, Brahma Kumaris Organisation). She spoke on golden principles of Leadership, Motivation, Team Building & Team work etc and how with a little bit of spirituality and compassion in their life, people can achieve bigger things in life. Capt. A.K Singh highlighted various issue on P&I in the afternoon session which was followed by Dr. Suresh Idnani’s session on Maritime Health. Dr. Idnani officially made first announcement about the 10th International Symposium on Maritime Health to be held in Goa in September 2009. He informed officers about various steps taken at International level for seafarers health and also invited everyone to participate in the 10th International Symposium on Maritime Health, Goa in September 2009.

The seminar was followed by Cocktail and dinner party in evening making it a great success.

The Marine World's Chanderjit interacted with Capt. Nicola Dicarlo (SMS / Crew Manager) Navigazione Montanari S.p.A Italy and Capt. S.C Sood (Managing Director) IMS Ship Management.



Company can only grow if employees are happy.. Capt. Nicola Dicarlo

TMW: Please tell us about your association with IMS.
Capt. Nicola Dicarlo : Our association with IMS started four years back with just few ships and at present IMS is managing our 11 ships. Our ships are amongst the youngest in the world, and the average age of our fleet is 4 years. You are aware that our company is over 100 years old and it has relentlessly grown over the decades. We have an ambitious expansion plans and have now invested over 700 million dollars to grow our fleet size and also to develop high quality facilities. We have begun building vessels in China and Korea; some of them are 38000 dwt while others are Panamax and Aframax. We wish to keep pace with our expansions by adopting a methodic manning approach so that all our vessels run with optimum effectiveness.

We have a very happy and productive relationship with our Indian manning collaborator, IMS Ship Management under Captain S.C Sood. We have obtained wonderful service from IMS Ship Management in our association of nearly 4 years with them. IMS mans eleven of our vessels with full Indian crew complement. The performance of these officers and crew in turn has been to our complete satisfaction. We also hope that all our new built ships to be manned by IMS in future making our relationship more stronger.
TMW: What are the human resources management and motivational policies and practices of your organization?
Capt. Nicola Dicarlo : Our firm belief is that a company can grow only if employees are happy working there. We are trying our utmost by providing a safe work environment on board ships. The environment on our ships allows a cordial relationship with everyone. You will also find that we are doing everything of the best order for the recreation, food, relaxation, and maintaining the health of the officers and crew. The company considers all employees as part of its family. Of particular importance to our company is the welfare of the families of our employees. We are concerned for the families' living conditions, their well-being and their health.

We are endeavoring to give an opportunity to each of our employees to take good care of his near and dear ones. And to enable officers and crew be in regular touch with their families we are modernizing our communication system on top priority. As a past seaman, I know how frustrating it is when you can't reach out to your parents or spouse. To the employees, I would like to say that this company offers a safe and stable career, and every facility to grow further. We wish them all the very best.


We need to nurture the qualities of loyalty, hard work.. Capt. S.C. Sood

A veteran in the ship manning sector, Capt. S.C. Sood is all praise for the understanding and cooperation he has received from Navigazione Montanari group. Capt. Sood says that his company's relationship with their clients have been win-win all through. He swells with pride while saying that Indian sailors are considered as the best in the world.

TMW: Please tell us about you association with Navigazione Montanari S.P.A
Capt. S.C. Sood: Prior to our associating with this company, no Indian officers were employed with them. We have a healthy relationship with Navigazione Montanari S.p.A. It is a real pleasure to work with the Montanari group and we highly appreciate them for their understanding of the challenges a manning agent faces. We have always got full cooperation from Navigazione Montanari in every respect. I must say their approach makes our job a lot easier. And it becomes easy for us to understand their situation and to strive to give them complete satisfaction by doing everything possible.


TMW: What makes IMS different from other Shipping Companies in India ?
Capt. S.C. Sood : I have been in this profession for almost 4 decades. We have manned for over 700 vessels since 1969. In all these years our company has followed a practice whereby a crew or officer has been allowed a free access to meet me whenever they desire. We are happy to see each of our employees going with a satisfaction that their company and the bosses are always available to listen to their concerns, and address them in the best way possible.
TMW: You started Operation in 1969 and in a way, IMS is one of the pioneer of Ship Manning in India. How do You see the journey so far.
Capt. S.C. Sood : Before the trend of owners opening their own offices in India caught on, IMS was one of biggest manning services provider in India. A lot of Ship owner's who have opened their own manning offices were with IMS at one time or another. Apart from manning, IMS was also responsible for establishing India's first private sector LPG Receiving Terminal at Porbander, Gujarat, India, in collaboration with SHV Energy, Holland (A multinational Fortune 500 company)

TMW: What suggestions you would like to make to overcome the shortage of seafarers problem in India.
Capt. S.C. Sood : Training is the only key to overcome the shortage of seafarers problem. Our priority should be to train more and more people. I personally think the Deck Cadet course duration which has been increased from three and half months to one year should be company specific.

TMW:What is your message for Budding Mariners and Tips to our readers for a good career in shipping.
Capt. S.C. Sood :Indian Mariners have already made a name for itself in International Shipping Arena. We need to nurture the qualities of loyalty, hard work and adherence to international Regulations to chart a brighter career path for ourselves.