Amit Kumar, a distinguished professional in the maritime industry, set out to establish India's premier maritime media outlet in 2016, a path most other sailors could only imagine. All that Kumar had to work with was his determination to transform maritime reporting, so he gathered all of the necessary resources and knowledge to launch a media outlet that eventually achieved its main objective of becoming India's preeminent maritime media authority. Thus, Sea and Coast came into being.  

At the Helm of a Revolution
Even though shipping is one of the oldest industries, how often does the average person hear about the stories from the sea? If s/he does, it's usually for a sinister purpose, such as a ship being sunk by pirates. The stories from the ocean's surface were barely known to even those employed in the industry. A few smaller, less reliable publications and some international publications that sporadically paid attention to local waters comprised the rest, which was simply folklore. Additionally, the community of seafarers lacked a common forum for discussion. 

Seeing this gap quickly, Amit decided to jump in. "Sending gratitude to the unsung marine community and the shipping industry" was his straightforward goal.  India had long felt the need for a media outlet serving the shipping, marine, and oil and natural gas industries. According to Amit, it is imperative that modern seafarers, who work in this more intricate and commercial shipping environment, have access to both entertainment and knowledge.

Miles Ahead
Sea and Coast has a distinct advantage over other maritime media outlets because of its deep subject-matter expertise, access to policymakers, and capacity to convene industry stakeholders on a single platform for discussion and resolution of issues. The agility and nimbleness of their editorial board is another important distinction. They think it's important to both ask and receive questions. Amit, the founder and chief editor of Sea and Coast, says of their creative response to changes, "We encourage everyone, including readers, to report any concern they may have about the matters concerning safety or policy in order to continuously improve the editorial standards as well as the visibility." 

Shore Up
Sea and Coast not just another magazine; it is India’s first and only magazine which covers Maritime, Shipping, Offshore, Oil & Gas, and Naval News. They’re also the National Maritime Foundation (top maritime think-tank) and have one of the most illustrious advisory boards with names like Admiral R K Dhowan (Retd). PVSM, AVSM, YSM, Former-Chairman National Maritime Foundation and Former Chief of the Naval Staff on it. (complete list at the bottom)

But these accolades are not what Amit does it for. He does it for the seafarer who goes on board for a long length of time, and is away from friends and family. “They carry it [the Sea and Coast magazine] with them in their bag packs, so that they can read those during the leisurely time at high seas and feel like there’s someone out there who is looking out for them,” says Amit with the pure mirth in his voice. Amit Kumar’s priority is to bring the maritime world together and encourage the adoption of best practices in the industry. To the dreamer—Amit, Sea and Coast is more than a media house; it is a realisation of collective dreams. 

All Hands on Deck
Sea and Coast is taking up newer endeavours to bring the shipping community together like in September of 2019, the media house conducted a path-breaking seminar in Delhi themed ‘Maritime Safety and Harnessing the Blue Economy — Challenges and Opportunities for Maritime India’. The organization has a lot of other outreach programmes in the pipeline. The whole Sea and Coast Team is working extremely hard every day to connect the industry and bring the revolution they set out to. 

The Sea and Coast vessel has just set sail. Their voyage has just begun and there’s a lot more water to cover. And nothing is going to anchor down the passionate Amit Kumar. 

The Sea and Coast Advisory Board
•    Admiral R K Dhowan (Retd.), PVSM, AVSM, YSM, Former-Chairman, National Maritime Foundation; Former Chief of the Naval Staff
•    Dr. Malini V. Shankar (IAS), Chairman of National Shipping Board; Former Director General of Shipping Member: Board of Governors, World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden
•    Shekhar Mittal, (RADM) Ex-Chairman & Managing Director of Goa Shipyard; Rear Admiral(Retd.) Indian Navy
•    Dr. Arnab Das (cdr), Founder & Director, Maritime Research Centre (MRC); Pr. at the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Pune
•    Commander Jayanath Colombage (Former Sri Lankan Navy Chief)—Admiral; Professor RSP, VSV, USP, RCDS, PSc, MSc, MA, Dip in IR, Dip in CR, FNI  
•    Shekhar Dutt, Ex-governor of Chhattisgarh; former IAS Officer & Secretary in the Ministry of Defence(GOI); Former DY NSA
•    Dr. Sadanand Gupta, Deputy Collector, UP
•    Dr. Patrick Verhoeven, Managing Director, International Association of Ports and Harbor
•    Eyal Pinko, CDR (Retd.) Maritime Cyber and Security Senior Consultant; Phd Candidate for Naval Strategy—Israel