Maritime centres of excellence planned in Mumbai, Vizag

The ministry of shipping in collaboration with Siemens will be setting up a world class centre of excellence in maritime and ship building in Mumbai and Vishakhapatnam.

The Centres of Excellence in Maritime and Ship Building (CEMS) is being set up by the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) in collaboration with Siemens under the shipping ministry's flagship Sagarmala Programme.

With campuses at Vishakhapatnam and Mumbai CEMS will provide skilled manpower for ship building and maritime sector, providing industry-relevant skill development, equip students with employable engineering and technical skills in the port and maritime sector and contribute to the Government of India's ambitious Sagarmala programme, a shipping ministry release stated.

Nitin Gadkari, minister of shipping, road transport and highways, water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation had announced this at an event in Cochin last week.

CEMS is being set up to meet the domestic skill requirement in ship design, manufacturing, operating and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO),  and  aims to become an international nodal centre in South Asia, attracting students from neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia for skill development in the port and maritime sector.

This initiative also adds to the Make in India and Skill India efforts in the maritime sector. CEMS will provide skilled manpower to make vessels for inland waterways, ships, fishing boats and other ancillary manufacturing sectors.

Siemens-a private sector entity is contributing technology, expertise and 87 per cent funding for the centre, which is being made at a cost of Rs766 crore. This is the first time such an in-kind grant is being made by Siemens in India. Siemens has also worked with state governments in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh on skilling initiatives.

The ministry of shipping's financial contribution is towards capex for procuring of machinery, creation of classrooms, workshop and labs etc, and is a one time-non recurring grant of Rs50.07 crore. An equivalent amount has been raised by Indian Register of Shipping. The land and building for Vishakhapatnam campus has been provided by Indian Maritime University (IMU) and that for Mumbai campus by IRS.

CEMS will be run by Siemens for two years and thereafter by a Special Purpose Vehicle (a Section 8 non-profit company) promoted by IRS. Siemens will handhold this SPV in the third year. CEMS will have a unique hub and spoke delivery model providing industry relevant courses and creating a self sustaining platform.

The training will be of two types: full time and co-curricular training (Ie, along with regular courses in ITI and polytechnics and engineering colleges). The centre would operate on an open technology platform and provide scalable, modular and independent self learning interactive modules based on digitally advanced interactive system. The total capacity of the COE is 10,512 students per year and the centre will offer paid courses for both domestic and international students but with fees far less than the current fees in the market.

It is expected that CEMS will become a global hub for quality skill development in the port and maritime sector and provide skilled manpower for India's ship building and repair industry.