Orissa Maritime Academy in Paradip. Telegraph picture

Paradip, April 5: Youngsters from the state have been found showing very little interest in opting for courses to become professional mariners and sailors. This, despite Orissa’s vast coastline and rich naval history.

Orissa Maritime Academy (OMA), the state’s only institute that churns out sailors, is packed with students from outside the state.

Things are also similar at the government-owned Crew Training Institute in Chandballi. Sanctioned seats continue to remain vacant in the institute that hones the driving skills of captains of inland-water vessels.

“The scenario is slowly undergoing a change in recent years. Local youths who were earlier shying away from sailors’ certificate course are now coming forward,” said Paradip-based OMA authorities.

“We have 40 seats for admission into pre-sea general purpose rating course (merchant navy’s crew training). More than half of the allotted seats are filled up by students from outside states”, said Premananda Rout, principal of OMA.

Things were not at all good some five to six years back. Now the ratio of Oriya students in the merchant ship crew training course was going up. However it was not encouraging at all. Now, about 20 Oriya students had got themselves enrolled while the figure stood around three or four in 2003, he said.

“Right from childhood, I was fascinated with sea, ships and vessels. My dream is to become a sailor in a merchant ship. I am enjoying the training course here. The chapters on marine navigation are quite exciting both in theory and in practice,” said Satyabrata Pattnaik, an Oriya student in OMA.

“Orissa has a 480km shoreline. It boasts of a rich maritime and navigation history. More local students should come forward to work as marine crew,” said Ajay Nath, another Oriya student in the academy.

The certificate training course, approved by the director-general of shipping of the Union government, has ample scope of employment in merchant ships.

Completion of the course almost ensures employment. Still it’s a matter of concern that enterprising local youths are not getting themselves enrolled in this course.

Mariner students need to be armed with the spirit of adventure and enterprise. We have laid emphasis on physical fitness and clarity of eyesight as the crew in merchant ships have to face tough oceanic environment.

Orissa is presently witnessing a spurt in port building. Besides, more inland water highways are proposed to come up in the state. Thus the certificate course is bound generate employment.

It was former chief minister Biju Pattnaik under whose personal initiative Orissa Maritime Academy was founded in 1993 as an autonomous body. This institute, the only of its kind in the state, presently functions as a registered trust with logistic support from Paradip Port Trust for practical training.

“The trainers here are voluntarily doing an honorary duty because the academy has been established to produce local sailors and crews. Initially, the admission to this residential institute was free of cost. But the admission fees charged now is nominal in comparison to similar institutes elsewhere in the country,” OMA principal Rout said.