Indian Economy
World’s First Facial Biometric Seafarer Identity Document
- 29 Aug 2019
- 2 min read
India has become the first country in the world to issue Biometric Seafarer Identity Document (BSID), capturing the facial biometric data of seafarers.
- The project has been launched by the Ministry of Shipping.
- The new card is in confirmation of the Convention No. 185 of the International Labour Organisation on BSID.
- India ratified the Convention in October 2015.
Background
- Development of BSID is very significant against the backdrop of the increase in seafaring activities.
- BSID will provide a foolproof identification to seafarers which will facilitate:
- Seafarer's movement,
- Ease of getting jobs,
- Identification of seafarers from any location in the world.
- The shipping sector is seeing major developments in the areas of coastal shipping, inland waterways and other maritime activities.
- These major developments will increase the number of Indian seafarers in the international shipping industry.
- The total number of Indian seafarers who were employed on Indian or foreign flag vessels increased by 35% from 2017 to 2019.
Biometric Seafarer Identity Document
- It will have a biometric chip embedded in it.
- The card has two optical security features:
- Micro prints/micro texts
- Unique Guilloche pattern.
- A software has been developed for capturing the facial biometrics and its authentication through the public key infrastructure.
- A record of each Seafarer Identity Document (SID) issued will be maintained in a national database and its related information will be internationally accessible.
Convention No. 185 of the International Labour Organisation on BSID.
- The convention promotes:
- Security against potential threats of International Terrorism.
- Introduces modern security features of the BSID.
- Requiring a record of each BSID issued to be maintained in a national database, with the related information to be internationally accessible.
- Ensures the reliability of the identification of the holder of the BSID, while protecting the holder’s dignity and privacy.
