The Choice Before Us
We stand at a critical juncture. India’s iron ore exports are resuming after years of decline. This presents an economic opportunity. It also presents a safety challenge. The infrastructure, expertise, and vigilance that emerged from the 2009 casualties have eroded. We are returning to the conditions that caused those tragedies.
We have a choice. We can acknowledge this reality and take immediate action to rebuild standards, enforce procedures, and prioritize safety over short-term commercial gain. Or we can proceed as if the past fifteen years of decline have not mattered, as if institutional memory and professional competence can be instantly restored, as if proper sampling and testing are optional luxuries rather than essential safeguards.
If we choose the latter path, we will face another casualty. It is not a question of if, but when. Another vessel will capsize. More crew members will die. There will be investigations, reports, and recommendations. Regulators will implement new requirements. The industry will pledge to do better. And the cycle will repeat.
We have been here before. We know what happens when sampling and testing standards erode. We know the cost in lives and vessels. We know the regulatory and commercial disruption that follows a major casualty. We have no excuse for allowing history to repeat itself.
The question is simple: Will we act now, or will we wait for the next casualty to force our hand?
The answer should be equally simple. But it requires commitment from every stakeholder—regulators, clubs, surveyors, shipowners, masters, and shippers. It requires prioritizing long-term safety over short-term profit. It requires professional integrity over commercial convenience. It requires remembering the lessons of 2009 and ensuring they are not forgotten again.
The lives of seafarers depend on our choice. We must choose wisely, and we must choose now.
About the Author Capt Ruchin C Dayal is the President of the International Institute of Marine Surveying, founder of eDOT
Marine Laboratory, with extensive experience in iron ore fines sampling and testing, having witnessed the evolution of standards and practices over the past twenty years.
THE REPORT | MAR 2026 | ISSUE 115 | 99
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