Making marine engineers

At the Institute of Maritime Studies. - BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

IT was a time when government institutes were unable to meet the demand for marine engineers caused by the increased trade activities generated by globalisation. The Director-General of Shipping (DGS) decided in 1996 to open up education to the private sector. The technical cell of the Institute of Marine Engineers visited various places in the country to get feedback and decided on Vasco-da-Gama in Goa to house a marine engineering institute.

There already existed the Institute of Shipbuilding Technology, run by the Shipbuilding Industry Society of Goa. The technical cell was impressed by the environment, including the shipping industry and the goals of the Society. Thus was born the Institute of Maritime Studies (IMS) in 1997, offering a one-year pre-sea training course to graduate mechanical engineers as per the regulations of the International Maritime Organisation of the United Nations. It also started a two-year diploma in pre-sea training. The IMS has earned a reputation in the international shipping industry for quality training, says its Director B.S. Mathur. With an intake of 40 students for graduate entry and 25 for diploma entry, the institute is still unable to cater to the growing demand of the shipping industry, says Mathur. He adds that almost all of its alumni (154 GME and 84 diploma entry) have been placed in either Indian or foreign vessels. Also, all its alumni were successful in qualifying for the Class IV examination conducted by the DGS after completing six months of their course. Candidates with good performance in subsequent examinations can go up to the Chief Engineer's position, earning a salary of around Rs.2 lakhs a month.

Apart from a dedicated and highly qualified faculty, a workshop and on-sea training facilities on four vessels owned by members of the Society, the IMS also has a good hostel. The institute is sure to go a long way in providing excellent maritime training.