Lok Sabha Question No. 1101 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-05
Subject: Maritime Training Institutes in the Country
Ministry: PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS
Asked by: Shri Anurag Singh Thakur

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1101

ANSWERED ON 05.12.2025

## MARITIME TRAINING INSTITUTES IN THE COUNTRY

1101.  SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR

Will the Minister of PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS be pleased to state:

## पȅन , पोत पįरवहन और जलमागŊ मंũी

- (a)  the  total  number  of  private  Maritime  Training  Institutes  (MTIs)  in  the  country  and courses currently approved by the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), State-wise and course-wise  along  with  the  criteria  for  such  approvals,  including  simulators,  seatime arrangements, faculty student ratios and infrastructure standards; (b) whether the Government has noticed instances of unapproved private entities offering course completion certificates or foreign Certificates of Proficiency to Indian seafarers and if so,the details thereof and the actions taken theron; (c)  whether  DGS  has  issued  any  guidelines  to  tighten  compliance  with  (STCW) requirements, if so, the details and the status of implementation thereof across private MTIs; (d) the measures being taken to ensure that admissions to pre-sea courses in private institutes are routed through IMU-CET; and (e)  whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  mandate  real-time  digital  attendance  & assessment  logs  integrated  with  the  DGS  e-governance  portal  and  strengthen  the Comprehensive Inspection  Program,  create  public  dashboard  publishing  each  private
- MTI's placement records, inspection scores akin to NIRF, if so, the details thereof

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS (SHRI SARBANANDA SONOWAL)

- a) (i) Total number of Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) approved MTIs is 167. Out of these, 54 MTIs are conducting simulator courses. The State-wise number of MTIs and  the  DGS  approved  Course-wise  number  of  MTIs  are  given  at Annexure  I and Annexure II, respectively.

(ii)  The  DGS  guidelines  mandate  Principal,  faculty  and  instructor  to  be  appropriately qualified in accordance with the provision of section A-I/6 of the Standards of Training Certification  and  Watchkeeping  for  seafarers  (STCW)  Code  for  the  type  and  level  of training and/or assessment performed.

(iii)  For  respective  courses,  the  minimum  qualification  of  faculty  are  prescribed  in  the respective DGS Course Guidelines. The student to instructor ratio for practical trainings are prescribed in the respective DGS Course Guidelines.

(iv)  The  Directorate  General  of  Shipping  (DGS)  has  prescribed  detailed  infrastructure standards  for  all  Maritime  Training  Institutes  (MTIs)  as  part  of  the  approval  process. These standards cover 17 key areas, including land requirements, construction quality, safety  systems,  classrooms,  laboratories,  teaching  aids,  library,  hostel  facilities,  firefighting mock-ups, simulators, faculty areas, and other academic and general infrastructure.

(v) The complete and course-specific requirements for all these infrastructure elements are provided in the Training Manuals and Approval Guidelines issued by DGS. These manuals specify  the  criteria  for  approvals,  including  simulator  requirements,  sea-time arrangements, equipment norms, and other mandatory facilities.

(vi) Individual MTIs seeking approval or renewal are required to refer the relevant Training Manuals available on the DGS website for detailed information on all 17 infrastructure standards and course-wise compliance requirements.

|   Sr. No. | Section                             | Infrastructure Requirement                                            |
|-----------|-------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Land requirements for Institute     | Requirements related to minimum land area and ownership/lease norms   |
|         2 | Shifting of Land / Premises         | Conditions and approvals required for shifting the institute location |
|         3 | Address for correspondence          | Registered and operational address requirements                       |
|         4 | Construction quality                | Standards for building quality, safety, materials, and compliance     |
|         5 | General Safety                      | Fire safety, evacuation plans, emergency exits, safety signage        |
|         6 | Alternate source of electric supply | Backup power, generator capacity, uninterrupted learning environment  |

|   7. | Dispensary and Medical emergencies   | First-aid room, medical officer availability, emergency arrangements          |
|------|--------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    8 | Administrative area                  | Office space, administrative support rooms, record- keeping areas             |
|    9 | Faculty room                         | Dedicated room for faculty preparation, seating, and storage                  |
|   10 | Classroom requirements               | Seating capacity, ventilation, lighting, furnishing, classroom area standards |
|   11 | Teaching aids                        | Projectors, boards, audio-visual equipment, training materials                |
|   12 | Library                              | Books, digital resources, seating, librarian, subject- specific collections   |
|   13 | General Facilities                   | Washrooms, drinking water, recreation, common areas                           |
|   14 | Academic Facilities                  | Labs, workshops, simulator rooms, equipment mandated per course               |
|   15 | Fire fighting mock- up               | Fire-fighting training area, mock-up structures, equipment                    |
|   16 | Catering                             | Dining hall, kitchen hygiene standards, food safety compliance                |
|   17 | Hostel and residential facilities    | Accommodation, sanitation, security, supervision, common facilities           |

- (b) There  have  been  reported  cases  of  maritime  training  institutes  which  are  not approved by DG Shipping and have been found to be issuing certificates without actual delivery of the training as required under the STCW convention.  In all such reported cases, the DGS has communicated the details of the incident to the Chief Secretary DGP and  the  respective  District  Magistrate  for  their  intervention  and  action  against  such entities.

The State Governments were requested to verify the allegations about institutes charging money for issuing certificates and job placement on ship, and to take action for violations for not adhering to the guidelines of DGS. Further, DGS has undertaken several social media awareness campaigns for the benefit of aspiring seafarers wishing to enroll in maritime  training  courses.  In  cases,  where  the  same  management  was  running  two institutes  one  approved  by  DGS  and  another  unapproved,  DGS  has  suspended  the approved  MTI.  In  cases,  where  DGS-approved  MTI  were  found  issuing  certificates without actually conducting the course, DGS has withdrawn approval of such MTIs.

The Directorate General of Shipping has issued DGS(NT/Eng) Circular No.31 of 2025 and the DGS Order No.08 of 2025 to ensure that the Certificate of Competency (CoC) and Certificate of Proficiency (CoP) are issued to an Indian Seafarer after following due process and in accordance to the requirements of the STCW Convention of the IMO.

- (c) The DGS has issued an updated Training Manual in the month of February 2025 to tighten the compliance with the STCW requirement.

The DGS mandate Comprehensive Inspection Programme (CIP) to be undertaken by the MTI  either  through  the  Recognized  Organisation  or  through  the  Mercantile  Marine Departments (MMDs).  The Directorate had issued guidelines, viz.DGS Order No.23 of 2014 and DGS Order No. 04 of 2016 and DGS Training Circular No.33 of 2018 for the MTIs to comply with the CIP requirements.

- (d) Admissions to pre-sea courses are required to  be primarily  routed  through  the Indian  Maritime  University  -  Common Entrance Test (IMU-CET) to insure quality and transparency in maritime education. As per DGS Training Circular No. 21/2025, MTIs must admit at least 60% of candidates from the IMU-CET merit list. To prevent underutilization of training capacity and support MIV 2030 goals, a controlled second-phase admission  pathway  is  proposed  only  for  remaining  vacant  seats,  with  strict  eligibility criteria  (minimum  60% PCM and appearance in JEE/State Engineering Entrance). All such  admissions  must  be  recorded  on  the  DGS  e-Governance  portal,  ensuring  full transparency, compliance, and adherence to DGS/STCW standards.
- (e) Several digital  reforms  have  been  undertaken  to strengthen  transparency compliance and monitoring across MTIs. DGS  has  undertaken  real-time digital attendance  through  Centralized  Attendance  System  (CAS)  2.0,  the  Digital  Training  & Assessment Record and the upgraded MTI module on the e-Governance portal for secure real time data capture and seamless integration with the DGS e-Gov. Portal for improved over sight and unified reporting. The Comprehensive Inspection Programme is also being strengthened with updated KPIs, revised grading weightages and the inclusion of faculty quality parameters.

Annexure I State-Wise number of MTIs:

| State/UT                    |   Number of MTIs |
|-----------------------------|------------------|
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands |                1 |
| Andhra Pradesh              |                4 |
| Bihar                       |                3 |
| Delhi                       |                6 |
| Goa                         |                6 |
| Gujarat                     |                4 |
| Haryana                     |                4 |
| Karnataka                   |                1 |
| Kerala                      |                9 |
| Maharashtra                 |               46 |
| Odisha                      |                5 |
| Punjab                      |                1 |
| Rajasthan                   |                1 |
| Sikkim                      |                1 |
| Tamil Nadu                  |               37 |
| Telangana                   |                1 |
| Uttar Pradesh               |               14 |
| Uttarakhand                 |                4 |
| West Bengal                 |               19 |
| Total                       |              167 |

## DGS approved Course-wise number of MTIs

| Name of DGS Approved Course Number of MTIs                                                      |   Name of DGS Approved Course Number of MTIs |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| Advanced Training course for Ships Operating in Polar waters                                    |                                            2 |
| Advanced Training for Chemical Tanker Cargo Operations                                          |                                           33 |
| Advanced Training for Liquified Gas Tanker Cargo Operations                                     |                                           17 |
| Advanced Training for Oil Tanker Cargo Operations                                               |                                           33 |
| Advanced Training in Fire Fighting                                                              |                                           38 |
| Advanced Trg. for Ships using Fuels covered within IGF code                                     |                                           18 |
| Assessment, Examination and Certification of Seafarers                                          |                                           14 |
| Augmentation of FPFF (Practical Tanker Fire Fighting)                                           |                                            1 |
| Automatic Radar Plotting Aids                                                                   |                                           27 |
| B.Sc Nautical Science                                                                           |                                           25 |
| Basic Safety Training                                                                           |                                          146 |
| Basic Trainig for Ships using Fuels covered within IGF code                                     |                                           26 |
| Basic Training for Liquified Gas Tanker Cargo Operations                                        |                                           49 |
| Basic Training for Oil and Chemical Tanker Cargo Operations                                     |                                           84 |
| Basic Training for Ships Operating in Polar water Course                                        |                                            2 |
| BE / B-Tech Marine Engineering                                                                  |                                           29 |
| Bridging Course for Existing Electrical Officers to ETO                                         |                                            1 |
| Bridging Courses from MEOClass III CEO to MEOClass I NCV [upto 8000 kw other than tankers]      |                                            1 |
| Bridging Courses fromMEO Class III SEO to MEOClass II NCV SEO [upto 8000 kw other than tankers] |                                            1 |
| Certificate Course In Maritime Caterring                                                        |                                           24 |
| Chief Mate (FG) - Phase I                                                                       |                                           22 |
| Chief Mate (FG) - Phase II                                                                      |                                           23 |
| Company Security Officer                                                                        |                                            1 |
| Competency Course for Chief Mate NCV Phase 2 exam                                               |                                            1 |
| Crisis Management and Human Behaviour                                                           |                                           14 |
| Crowd Management, Passenger Safety and Safety Training                                          |                                           49 |
| Diesel Engine Combustion Gas Simulator                                                          |                                           18 |
| Diploma In Nautical Science                                                                     |                                           31 |
| Electro Technical Officers                                                                      |                                           22 |
| Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems                                                |                                           29 |
| Engine Room Simulator - Management level                                                        |                                           25 |
| Engine Room Simulator - Operational level                                                       |                                           26 |

| Extra Chief Engineer                                         |   1 |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|-----|
| Familiarization Course for Medical Examiner of Seafarers     |   1 |
| Fast Rescue Boats                                            |   1 |
| General Operator`s Certificate for GMDSS                     |  23 |
| Graduate Marine Engineering                                  |  30 |
| High Voltage Safety and Switch Gear at Management level      |  20 |
| High Voltage Safety and Switch Gear at Operational level     |  28 |
| Higher National Diploma Course (Nautical Science)            |   1 |
| LNG Tanker Cargo and Ballast handling Simulator              |   1 |
| Indian Maritime Legislation Course                           |   1 |
| LPG Tanker Cargo and Ballast handling Simulator              |   2 |
| Marine Bioler & Steam Engineering Course - Operational level |   2 |
| Marine Bioler & Steam Engineering. Course - Management level |   1 |
| Master (NCV) Advanced Shipboard Management                   |   1 |
| Master FG Advanced Shipboard Management                      |  19 |
| Mate of Home Trade ship - NCV                                |   1 |
| Medical First Aid                                            |  51 |
| Medical Care                                                 |  26 |
| MEO (CEO-NCV )                                               |   1 |
| MEO (NCV SEO) Part A                                         |   1 |
| MEO (NCV SEO) Part B                                         |   1 |
| MEO Class - I                                                |  21 |
| MEO Class - II                                               |  37 |
| MEO Class - IV (NCV)                                         |   1 |
| MEO Class IV                                                 |   1 |
| Navigational Watchkeeping Officer- NCV                       |   2 |
| Orientation Course for Catering Personal                     |   8 |
| Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities                    |   2 |
| Port Facility Security Officer                               |   1 |
| Pre-sea Training for Diploma Holders                         |   4 |
| Proficiency In Survival Craft and Rescue Boats               |  41 |
| Radar and Navigation Simulator                               |  20 |
| Radar Observer Simulator                                     |  27 |
| Refresher &Updating Training Course for Engineers-Management |   1 |
| Refresher and Updating Training Course for all Engineers     |  28 |
| Refresher Course for Medical Examiner of Seafarers           |   1 |
| Refresher Training for Advanced Training in Fire Fighting    |  44 |
| Refresher Training for Medical Care                          |  29 |

| Refresher Training for Medical First Aid                    |   47 |
|-------------------------------------------------------------|------|
| Refresher Training for Proficiency in FPFF                  |   90 |
| Refresher Training For Proficiency In PSCRB                 |   43 |
| Refresher Training for Proficiency in PST                   |   88 |
| Revalidation Training Course for Masters and Deck Officers  |   21 |
| Second Mate (FG) Competency Course                          |   28 |
| Second Mate (FG) Foundation Course                          |    3 |
| Security Trng. for Seafarer with Designated Security Duties |  143 |
| Ship Manoeuvering Simulator                                 |   15 |
| Ship Security Officer                                       |   38 |
| Ship`s Cook                                                 |    1 |
| Simulator- Liquid Cargo Handling - Oil - Management level   |   12 |
| Train the Simulator Trainer and Assessor Course             |    6 |
| Training for General Purpose Ratings                        |   76 |
| Vertical Integration Course for Trainers - VICT             |   27 |

*****