{"id":155805,"date":"2026-04-21T16:01:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=155805"},"modified":"2026-04-21T16:01:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:01:19","slug":"marine-sector-development-in-india-and-sri-lanka-is-an-area-that-needs-urgent-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/04\/21\/marine-sector-development-in-india-and-sri-lanka-is-an-area-that-needs-urgent-attention\/","title":{"rendered":"Marine sector development in India and Sri Lanka is an area that needs urgent attention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Marine sector development in India and Sri Lanka is an area that needs urgent attention \u00a0right \u00a0now, Sri Lanka can either lose skilled labor to a Middle East pull, or deliberately position itself as the alternative regional shipbuilding power\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Trying to stop workers from leaving the country is not practical in a democratic economy. Countries like India and Sri Lanka don\u2019t succeed by restricting mobility\u2014they succeed by making it more attractive to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the Prime Minister\u2019s Modi\u2019s  strategy has to be built around retention, attraction, and productivity, not control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Turn the exodus risk\u201d into a wage arbitrage advantage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a Middle East conflict, yards in places like the Persian Gulf will indeed pay premium rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of competing blindly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Offer tax-free income bands for marine sector workers<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Introduce foreign currency\u2013linked salaries (partial USD payments)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Allow workers to legally earn and retain foreign exchange<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    This narrows the gap without matching Gulf wages fully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Fast-track a National Marine Skills Corps<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You need scale, not just retention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Create a structured pipeline:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Expand welding, fabrication, and offshore training institutes<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Bring in certification aligned with International Maritime Organization standards<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Partner with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited to co-develop training academies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Key idea: produce 3 workers for every 1 that leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      3. Reform labor relations without confrontation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Sri Lankan unions are strong, and direct confrontation will backfire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Instead:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Move to productivity-linked wage models<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Introduce profit-sharing schemes at yards like Colombo Dockyard PLC<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Offer equity participation or bonus pools tied to export earnings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Make unions stakeholders, not adversaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        4. Create a special marine economic zone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A standard BOI model won\u2019t be enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Designate a Marine Industrial Zone around:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Port of Colombo<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Trincomalee Harbour<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Offer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • Flexible labor laws (within limits)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 24\/7 operations without bureaucratic delays<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Duty-free import of equipment and materials<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            This improves productivity per worker, reducing dependence on sheer labor numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            5. Structured migration\u2014not brain drain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Instead of losing workers permanently:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            • Negotiate bilateral labor agreements with Gulf countries<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Ensure fixed-term contracts with return clauses<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Require skill upgrading before departure and after return<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              Turn migration into a circular system, not a one-way drain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              6. Attract foreign skilled labor (yes, reverse the flow)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              This is often ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              If there\u2019s a shortage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n
              • Allow temporary Indian, Bangladeshi, or Filipino skilled workers<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Fast-track visas for marine engineers and welders<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Use this as a buffer during peak demand<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                7. Anchor geopolitical positioning carefully<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                If Sri Lanka wants naval superpower interest, it must avoid becoming a battleground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Balance engagement with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \n
                • India<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • China<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • United States<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  But keep marine infrastructure commercial-first, military-neutral where possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  8. Mechanization and productivity leap<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  The uncomfortable truth: relying on manual welders alone is outdated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Invest in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    \n
                  • Robotic welding by initially concentrating on developing fillet welding in shops to reduce skilled welders because mass filter type welding is highest in shipbuilding\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Mechanized pipe welding in the shops\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Modular shipbuilding\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Digital yard management<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                    This reduces dependence on volatile labor markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    Bottom line<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    If the government reacts defensively (trying to stop workers leaving or suppress unions), it will fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    If it raises earning potential, increases supply of skills, and boosts productivity, Sri Lanka can actually benefit from the Middle East disruption and become a secondary hub to the Gulf and India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    Regards

                    Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    Dr Sarath Obeysekera Marine sector development in India and Sri Lanka is an area that needs urgent attention \u00a0right \u00a0now, Sri Lanka can either lose skilled labor to a Middle East pull, or deliberately position itself as the alternative regional shipbuilding power\u00a0  Trying to stop workers from leaving the country is not practical in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sarath-obeysekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155805"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155806,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155805\/revisions\/155806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}