2026-09-06 · 6 min read
Women in the Merchant Navy: Official Statistics, Context and Limits
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Statistics in this article come from the named IMO-WISTA public survey sources. They describe a survey sample, not a count of Indian seafarers.
Why the source matters
Women in maritime statistics are often repeated without a dataset, year or definition. This guide uses the public IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024 and the IMO summary page. The survey covers maritime work across responding IMO Member States and private organisations; it is not a census of every country, company or seafarer.
What the 2024 IMO-WISTA survey reports
The IMO summary reports 176,820 women covered across the surveyed public and private maritime workforce in 2024, just under 19% of the total workforce sampled. In the surveyed private-sector workforce excluding seafarers, women represented 16%. At sea, the survey reports women as 1% of the active seafarers employed by surveyed organisations: 2,223 of 211,750 reported seafarers. These are sample findings, not a prediction for an individual candidate.
What the Indian government reports
A June 2025 Press Information Bureau release on the Sagar Mein Samman policy says the number of Indian women seafarers rose from 341 in 2014 to 2,557 in 2024, and describes the policy as covering safety, training, retention and equal opportunity. Use those figures with the source and dates attached: they are a government-reported Indian count in that release, not a forecast or a measure of every woman working in shore-based maritime roles.
How to read the 1% number
The seafarer figure shows that women remain underrepresented at sea in the surveyed organisations. It does not say that a girl cannot enter, that every company has the same ratio, or that India has exactly that share. It is a reason to ask better questions about access, retention, promotion, welfare and safety—not a reason to discourage a qualified candidate.
How to treat Indian numbers
The global IMO-WISTA sample is not an Indian women-seafarer count. Public DG Shipping pages are useful for Indian rules, medical standards, training approval and welfare information. Quote an Indian number only when an official Indian dataset clearly defines its coverage, year and gender measure. Plain guidance is better than an unverified number.
The practical meaning for an aspirant
A small seagoing share means candidates should look closely at course quality, medical planning, onboard culture, complaint routes and professional support. At NavPath, girls and boys train in the same batch, with the same mentors and the same standards. A statistic describes the industry, not you.
Questions for anyone quoting a number
Ask: Who collected it? What year? Does maritime include shore-based roles? Does seafarer include officers, ratings or only company employees? How many countries and organisations responded? Is the figure a count, percentage or estimate? Without those answers, do not repeat the number as fact.
A hopeful but honest conclusion
The official evidence shows a real representation gap and a real opportunity for maritime institutions to improve access and retention. A girl considering the Merchant Navy can respond by researching the route carefully, preparing seriously and choosing accountable organisations. Representation is a context for action. Girls are welcome in every NavPath batch.
Official sources and further reading
- Press Information Bureau, Sagar Mein Samman policy and women seafarer participation — https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2129460
- International Maritime Organization, IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024 — https://www.imo.org/en/ourwork/technicalcooperation/pages/imo-wista-women-in-maritime-survey-2024.aspx
- International Maritime Organization and WISTA, Women in Maritime Survey 2024 report (PDF) — https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/MediaCentre/Documents/IMO-%20WISTA%20Women%20in%20Maritime%20Survey%202024%20report_FINAL.pdf
- International Maritime Organization, New data highlights lack of gender diversity in maritime — https://www.imo.org/en/mediacentre/pressbriefings/pages/idwim-2025-wista-survey.aspx
- Directorate General of Shipping, Annual Reports — https://dgshipping.gov.in/Content/AnnualReportsDownload.aspx
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