It gives me immense pleasure and delight to extend my greetings to all seafarers and their families on the occasion of 59th National Maritime Day, which is being celebrated on 05th April, 2022.  This solemn occasion of Maritime Day reminds us about the supreme sacrifice of seafarers over the years, especially during the COVID pandemic.

The Seafarers, despite facing many challenges including being stranded onboard for months, continued their dedicated services for timely transportation of essential goods and medical supplies across the Islands. This played a significant role in fighting with this pandemic and saving precious human lives.

In the prevailing changing situation, our shipping fraternity needs to become agile and adaptable. We should focus on building effective response strategies and plan for ensuring swift management of critical situations.  I am sure that our seafarers will leave no stone unturned to manage these challenges.

On this special day, I would like to convey my admiration and gratitude to entire Maritime fraternity of these Islands. I also re-affirm my confidence in them and hope that they will continue their service with same passion and verve.

Admiral D K Joshi

PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM (Retd.)

Lieutenant Governor, A&N Islands &

Vice Chairman, Islands Development Agency