The Ministry of Shipping has approved creation of Indian Maritime Casualty Investigation Cell in view of recent growth in marine traffic which resulted in increasing incidence of shipping causalities and consequent loss of lives, ships and pollution to the marine environment.

One of the primary objectives of the Cell will be to conduct investigation into the causes of casualty and incidents in accordance with the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 bearing in mind the mandatory tenets of the International Maritime Organization Casualty Investigation. This will be in line with the Code of the International Standards and recommended Practices for a safety investigation into a Marine Casualty or Marine Incident which the International Maritime Organisation brought into force from January 1st 2010.

To man the Indian Maritime Casualty Investigation Cell, a total of six posts (one post of Deputy Head and 6 posts of Accident Investigator) have been created.