The team behind Navguide Solutions.
Navguide Solutions is a maritime competency-management and inspection-readiness company, founded in 2019 by a group of mariners and inspectors who wanted vessels to stay always inspection-ready — not scrambling before a SIRE, RightShip or Port State audit. The company is ABS ISO 9001:2015 certified (Certificate No. 63020), and its flagship app, Guide2Inspections, is ClassNK-approved.
Why Navguide Solutions exists.
Navguide Solutions was started by a group of mariners and inspectors — in 2019 — with one driving idea: keep vessels always inspection-ready, so that commercial inspections like SIRE, RightShip and Port State Control stop being a source of anxiety and financial risk. The team built that idea into Guide2Inspections: bite-sized microlearning videos, scenario-based gamified evaluations, and a guided self-audit app that replaces conventional, text-heavy checklists — not increasing the burden on seafarers, but keeping the vessel ready at all times.
Our mission.
“To reimagine shipboard competency development for the modern seafarer.”
— Navguide Solutions, Corporate Booklet 2026
Everything the team builds — the Guide2Inspections app, the maritime LMS, the vessel inspection services — sits under that one mission: results over courses, and competence that shows up when an inspector, not a classroom, is the audience.
Founder & Director.
Capt. Debashis Basu
Founder & Director, Navguide Solutions
Capt. Debashis Basu is the Founder & Director of Navguide Solutions and the creator of Guide2Inspections and the Maritime Skill Enhancer. A Master Mariner with 25 years at sea, he has been a keynote speaker at forums including the IMO and INTERTANKO, and is a Member of the Nautical Institute and CMMI (Company of Master Mariners of India).
Capt. Basu has presented at the IMO's Plenary Hall in London on two occasions — 6 February 2024, and again on 10 February 2025 during the HTW 11 session — and has spoken at BIMCO's Tanker Safety Network, the INTERTANKO Vetting Forum, and the Indian Ocean MoU's Silver Jubilee conference. In December 2024, the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) submitted a paper to the IMO recognising the impact of Guide2Inspections on global shipping standards; the submission is part of the IMO's HTW documentation. In February 2025, Capt. Basu received the Founders' Innovation Award from the Company of Master Mariners of India (CMMI).
He is the author of Decoding the Young Millennial Mariner (3rd Edn, 2026), which examines how millennial and Gen-Z seafarers — now the largest and least understood segment of the maritime workforce — actually learn, are motivated, and respond to authority on board.
See the app Capt. Basu's team built.
A 30-minute walkthrough with a master mariner — your trades, your inspection regimes, your questions.
The leadership team.
Mr. John Adams
Chairman
Senior Advisor; former Managing Director, V Group and Teekay; Chairman, Bahamas Shipowners' Association; Vice Chair, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS); chaired the IMO GHG Working Group. Joined Navguide Solutions as Chairman in August 2025.
Dr. Ishani Mitra
Co-Founder
Doctorate holder; leads instructional design and video/content production for Navguide Solutions' microlearning library.
Title confirmed by Capt. Basu (2026-07-25, canonical brand-facts sheet): Co-Founder. Headshot and full biography still to be supplied.
Mr. David Birwadkar
Chief Strategy Officer, India Operations
43+ years in the industry: former General Manager, Essar Shipping; Fleet Director, Anglo-Eastern; Vice President, Great Eastern Shipping; Head, Great Eastern Institute of Maritime Studies; Director, HIMT.
Capt. Robert S. Vaz
Chief Operating Officer
250+ inspections conducted and 1,000+ inspection reports reviewed. A maritime trainer since 2011, and formerly a Marine Safety & Quality Superintendent and Designated Person Ashore (DPA). Member, CMMI. Authored the "Nine Performance Influencing Factors" framework.
Mr. Avinash Hegde
Head of Engineering
Former Training Manager, NYKSM Singapore; 28 years at sea, including 16 as Chief Engineer.
Mr. Karan Singh
Vice President
An engineer by training, handling strategic growth and client relations. State-level medalist in rifle shooting.
Vessel Inspection Services — the auditors.
Navguide Solutions' Vessel Inspection Services team runs on-board video production, remote and on-board workshops, remote SIRE/AMSA/RightShip inspections, and VDR analysis.
Capt. Indraneel Chari
Empanelled Auditor & Trainer
Ex-Master; has led approximately 200 navigation audits; heads Vessel Inspection Services.
Profile coming soon
A confirmed name and bio for this auditor slot is pending Capt. Basu's confirmation.
Profile coming soon
A confirmed name and bio for this auditor slot is pending Capt. Basu's confirmation.
Profile coming soon
A confirmed name and bio for this auditor slot is pending Capt. Basu's confirmation.
Certifications & affiliations.
Guided by 14 industry leaders.
Former OCIMF, BP, IMO and class-society executives review how Navguide Solutions' guidance maps to the regimes they helped write.
Meet the Global Advisory BoardPresented at the IMO. Cited by SAFETY4SEA and Splash247.
The dated, sourced record of Navguide Solutions' regulatory engagement, press coverage and milestones.
See the recordQuestions people ask.
Who founded Navguide Solutions?
Navguide Solutions was founded in 2019 by Capt. Debashis Basu, a Master Mariner with 25 years at sea, together with co-founder Dr. Ishani Mitra.
Is Navguide Solutions certified?
Yes. Navguide Solutions is ABS ISO 9001:2015 certified (Certificate No. 63020), and its Guide2Inspections app is ClassNK (NKK)-approved.
Where is Navguide Solutions based?
Navguide Solutions is a Singapore-based maritime inspection-readiness company.
Has Navguide Solutions presented its work to regulators?
Yes. Capt. Debashis Basu has presented at the IMO's Plenary Hall in London twice (2024 and 2025, the latter during the HTW 11 session), and the ITF submitted a paper on Guide2Inspections to the IMO in December 2024.
What is Capt. Debashis Basu's book about?
Decoding the Young Millennial Mariner (3rd Edn, 2026) examines how millennial and Gen-Z seafarers learn, are motivated, and respond to authority on board — the generational thesis behind Navguide Solutions’ training design.
Talk to the people who built it.
A 30-minute walkthrough with a master mariner — your trades, your inspection regimes, your questions.