Background report, originally published by UNB on 2 July 2025.
The Bangladesh Mariners’ Community formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka to protest a proposal by the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment to issue Continuous Discharge Certificates (CDCs) to SSC-level diploma holders for officer cadet posts. Speakers called it a “clear violation” of international and national rules.
They said the Diploma in Marine Technology is not recognised under STCW Code A-III/1 and does not qualify holders for officer training under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1983, and warned that the move could threaten Bangladesh’s place on the IMO White List. The sector brings in nearly $750 million a year in remittances, they said.
Their five demands were cancelling the CDC plan, quota-based recruitment matched to demand, solving visa problems, ending corruption in recruitment and training, and diplomatic efforts to free a Bangladeshi captain reportedly imprisoned in Venezuela.
Source
- UNB: “Mariners protest against proposed CDC issuance to diploma holders” (2 July 2025)
File photo: the seafarers’ memorial at Bangladesh Marine Academy. Photo: Shafi aszad / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This article is a summary prepared by Maritime News BD from the report(s) listed above; it was not independently reported by Maritime News BD.
