THERE has been a heated debate in the media for long on the performance of state organisations, such as PIA and Pakistan Railways. However, no one ever mentions the plight of Pakistan’s merchant navy which was once the pride of the nation but has been in a poor state for several decades. The media does not focus on the matter and, as a result, people hardly know about its woes.

Most people in Pakistan do not know the difference between Pakistan Navy and the merchant navy. They take pride knowing through the media that new submarines and ships are being added to the navy, assuming that there is no problem with the shipping industry.

The decline of the merchant navy started with nationalisation of all the merchant ships in 1974. While the rot was started then, successive governments too did nothing to reverse the trend, with the exception of 19 ships that were added to the fleet during the 1980s.

The media has been highlighting on a regular basis the case of PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York. It should be commended for this. However, on the other hand, hardly anyone knows that the Seamen’s Hostel in Karachi is in a condition worse than a stable and that Pakistan Merchant Navy Officers Club in the city is a picture of utter neglect.

The ministry of maritime affairs surely knows about this situation, but does nothing. The government has neither given any indication nor has it done anything to show that it knows or cares about the issues the merchant navy faces.

The minister concerned has been approached several times to improve the condition of the Seamen’s Hostel and the Merchant Navy Officers Club, but all in vain. When such is the situation, expecting the government to add new ships to the fleet, to say the least, is naïve.

The previous governments ignored merchant navy which led to its decline, and the present one seems to be trying to wipe it out. The prime example of neglect is that it has failed to appoint even an examiner for marine engineers for the last two-and-a-half years on one pretext or the other.

As the representative of the seamen, the ministry concerned has failed miserably to fight for their rights and rally for the cause and importance of having a strong merchant navy.

Ports and shipping — maritime affairs — was part of the ministry of communications and there was no separate minister for it. When there was no separate minister for ports and shipping, it was making progress. The creation of a separate ministry has resulted in the decline of the merchant navy, which is ironic.

A separate ministry is simply a waste of money, which should be spent on adding ships to the fleet.

We must realise that if our merchant navy fleet is strong, it will operate in the international market and will compete with the United States, the European Union, and Japanese ships due to low wages, and will bring in revenue.

I wonder when the government has not done anything concrete for bailing out PIA and railways from their crises, how it will even plan to do something to improve the situation of merchant navy.

Khurshid Anwar
Peshawar

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2021