In September 2025 Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) inaugurated India’s first Maritime Simulation Centre at the Academy of Maritime Education and Training(AMET) Knowledge Park, Maersk’s Centre of Excellence, near Chennai, and virtually inaugurated the Indian Ship Technology Centre (ISTC) in Visakhapatnam AndhraPradesh(AP).
Exam Hints:
- What? Inauguration of India’s first Maritime Simulation Centre and Indian Ship Technology Centre (ISTC)
- Inaugurated by: Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, MoPSW
- Where: AMET Knowledge Park (Chennai) and IMU Visakhapatnam campus
- Total Cost: Rs 13.5 Crore (Simulation Centre)
- Development Cost: Rs 305 crore(ISTC)
- Purpose: Advanced maritime training, indigenous ship design, boosting India’s maritime sector
About Maritime Simulation Centre:
Development Cost: This newly inaugurated facility has been established with an investment of Rs 13.5 crore, which includes financial support of Rs 6.5 crore (USD 750,000) from the AP Moller Foundation.
- This new facility has been set up through a strategic partnership between AMET, a Deemed-to-be University, and Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk.
Key Features: The Maritime Simulation Centre is equipped with the state-of-the-art technology which includes Full Mission Simulators for Deck and Engine Operations, Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) and Advanced Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) laboratories.
Significance: The advanced systems of the centre provides cadets with immersive, hands-on training in vital maritime skills such as watchkeeping and steering, collision avoidance, navigation light identification, and engine troubleshoot.
About ISTC at IMU Visakhapatnam campus:
Inauguration: Inaugurated during the Indian Maritime University’s 10th Convocation, ISTC is a hub for indigenous ship design, research, consultancy, and skills training, intended to reduce India’s dependence on foreign designs and make it a global shipbuilding leader by 2030.
Development Cost: This newly inaugurated centre has been established with an investment of Rs 305 crore.
Significance: The new centre features advanced technologies and software. It will act as a hub for design, Research & Development (R&D), engineering, and skill development.
Key Progress Made in Maritime Sector:
Turnaround Time of Ports: Since 2014, Indian Ports witnessed significant improvements in infrastructure due to extensive modernization that resulted in a turnaround time of 0.9 days, higher than advanced maritime advanced maritime nations such as the United States of America (USA), Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, and Singapore.
- In the last 10 years, cargo movement through inland waterways has increased 7 times, and coastal shipping volumes have surged over 150%.
Global Dominance of Indian Ports: At present, 9 Indian ports rank among the world’s top 100 ports. Also, Vadhavan Port is being constructed at a cost of Rs 76,000 crore in Palghar, Maharashtra, will be one of the world’s largest container ports.
Financial Support: For the 1st time, the Government of India (GoI) has allocated Rs 70,000 crore for the development of the maritime sector.
Investments: Further, investments worth Rs 80 lakh crore are being directed toward port infrastructure, coastal shipping, inland waterways, shipbuilding, and green shipping initiatives.
MDF: The Maritime Development Fund (MDF) with a corpus of Rs 25,000 crore has been formed to provide long-term financing to boost India’s tonnage and shipbuilding capabilities.
