Overview
The Indian Maritime University (IMU) is a public central university in India, functioning directly under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. It serves as a national institution for maritime education, with focus areas including commercial shipping, marine engineering, and maritime administration. The university is also engaged in the training of merchant navy officers.
IMU was established through the Indian Maritime University Act, 2008, and came into existence on 14 November 2008. Prior to its formation, maritime education and research in India was conducted through seven separate institutes operating under the Ministry of Shipping. These legacy institutes were subsumed under IMU at the time of its establishment, namely the National Maritime Academy, Chennai; Training Ship Chanakya, Mumbai; Lal Bahadur Shastri College of Advanced Maritime Studies & Research, Mumbai; Marine Engineering and Research Institute, Mumbai; Marine Engineering and Research Institute, Kolkata; Indian Institute of Port Management, Kolkata; and the National Ship Design & Research Centre, Visakhapatnam.
The university has all-India jurisdiction, with its headquarters located at Chennai. It operates through six campuses spread across the country, situated at Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai Port, Navi Mumbai, and Visakhapatnam. This network reflects the integration of the earlier institutes and supports the university's role in delivering maritime education and research across major port cities.
Admissions to programmes offered by IMU are conducted through the Indian Maritime University Common Entrance Test (IMUCET), an entrance examination held annually at centres across the country. Through this admission system, the university enrols students into its various academic programmes related to the maritime sector.