Agreement with the world’s second-largest seafarer supply country marks a major milestone for global digital certification. 

The Directorate General of Maritime Administration, India (DGMA) has joined ISF Verify, collaborating with the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and Lloyd’s Register OneOcean (LROO) in a major step that brings the platform within reach of countries representing around 30 per cent of the global seafarer workforce.

The agreement marks a significant milestone for ISF Verify, bringing one of the world’s largest seafarer supply countries into the project and further strengthening its international reach. India supplies approximately 312,000 seafarers, making it the world’s second-largest seafarer supply country, according to the ICS/BIMCO Seafarer Workforce Report 2026.

The agreement builds on growing international collaboration around ISF Verify and follows a successful proof of concept with the Philippines’ Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA). Together with the Philippines, the two countries account for around 30 per cent of the global seafarer workforce of 2.57 million.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was marked at a signing ceremony during the International Maritime Organization Council meeting at the IMO headquarters in London this week.

Under the agreement, the DGMA, ICS and LROO will undertake a pilot programme exploring the integration of ISF Verify with India’s existing platform through an API with the parties completing technical discovery work, establishing requirements and agreeing a development plan and roadmap for integration.

ISF Verify is a cloud-based platform developed by ICS and LROO to support the maritime sector’s transition from paper to digital seafarer certificates and connects seafarers, administrations, port state control and shipping companies, enabling the secure sharing, verification and endorsement of certificates.

A core principle of ISF Verify is putting the seafarer in control of who can access their data. The platform acts as a trusted connector between systems, with original certificates remaining under the control and jurisdiction of the issuing authority, enabling them to respond to queries in real-time.

Successful integration would enable Indian seafarers to synchronise certificates issued by the DGMA with ISF Verify, enhancing their freedom of movement and career prospects.

For issuing administrations, ISF Verify supports faster endorsements by foreign flags, reduces administrative burden and costs, reduces the risk of fraudulent certificates and potentially cuts verification and inspection times at ports.

Thomas A. Kazakos, Secretary General of ICS, said: “India’s participation is a major milestone for ISF Verify and for the wider transition towards trusted digital certification across shipping. As one of the world’s largest suppliers of seafarers, India brings significant scale to the project and, importantly, demonstrates growing confidence among administrations in a model that combines global connectivity with national control giving seafarers a modern and trusted digital certification process.

“Together with the Philippines, we now have agreements with countries representing around 30 per cent of the world’s seafarers which gives us a powerful foundation from which to build a truly global ecosystem that can make certification simpler and more efficient for seafarers, administrations and the wider industry.”

Sushil Khopde, Additional Director General of Maritime Administration, DGMA, said: “The Indian maritime administration is proud to partner with the International Chamber of Shipping and Lloyd’s Register OneOcean on this milestone initiative. As one of the world’s major suppliers of seafarers, our priority is to equip our workforce with modern, efficient digital tools that improve their mobility and streamline certification.

“By exploring the integration of our national platform with ISF Verify, we aim to reduce administrative burden, enhance security against fraudulent documentation, and ensure our seafarers can verify their credentials globally in real-time while maintaining strict national data oversight.”

Andy McKeran, Chief Growth Officer Lloyds Register & Managing Director Lloyd’s Register OneOcean, said: “India’s decision to join ISF Verify is a landmark moment — not just for the platform, but for the future of how seafarers are recognised and trusted around the world.

“Seafarers are the backbone of global trade, and they deserve systems that work as hard as they do. ISF Verify does exactly that: their certificates are instantly verifiable, wherever they are in the world, with none of the delays that paper-based certification creates.

“With India now part of the ecosystem, we are approaching a genuine tipping point where digital certification can become the global standard. Digital transformation in maritime only succeeds when it is built on trust, and this partnership with the DGMA, India and ICS is a demonstration of exactly that principle in action.”

India joining the project represents another significant step towards a connected international ecosystem in which administrations can exchange certificate information securely while continuing to retain ownership and control of their national systems and data.