What is Merchant Navy? Best Merchant Navy College or Institutes in India

There are several Merchant Navy Colleges in India offering maritime courses. Before selecting the college first check the college ranking and placements. Some criteria are as given below to select the Best Merchant Navy College in India.

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Getting Placement or getting on board a ship, as mariners like to call it, just after graduation is not as easy as 2+2, but yeah it’s not as hard as e= mc²

Before we talk about ways to join and college rankings, let’s first check the eligibility criteria for the same,

The eligibility for joining merchant navy is finishing class 12 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

Candidates have to be unmarried Indian citizens (male or female).

Normal vision is required but glasses up to plus or minus 2.5 may be allowed.

Admission is through an entrance followed by a screening test and a main written examination.

After clearing the test, there is an interview and a medical test.

You also need to complete a ship-training course prior to the employment. The course is generally short-term where the candidates are taught basic security concerns of voyaging.

There are some private institutes, which offer training for merchant navy as well.

Check the detailed list of institute and college of merchant navy —

https://www.dgshipping.gov.in/Content/PageUrl.aspx?page_name=ListofallapprovedTrainingInstitutes

These institutes prepare students for jobs such as deck cadets and marine engineering jobs.

After class 12, you are eligible to study the following merchant navy courses:

B.Sc. Nautical Science

B.E. Marine Engineering

B.E. Naval Architecture and Offshore Engineering

B.E. Petroleum Engineering

B.E. Mechanical Engineering

B.E. Harbour & Ocean Engineering

B.E. Civil Engineering

B.E. Electrical & Electronics Engineering

B.Sc. Marine Catering

Electro Technical Officer Course

How to start the Journey.

Now after 12th, you need to appear for IMU-CET exam, which is a All India Level Common Entrance Test, for all the colleges affiliated to Indian Maritime University. After clearing this exam, you can join one of the IMU which are located in Vizag, Chennai, Noida, etc.

OR

You can become a sponsored candidate, by going through one of the private Maritime Universities affiliated to IMU. Benefit of being a sponsored candidate is that, you don’t have to worry about hunting for ships after graduation, it is taken care by them itself, but of course the course fee is higher than the Govt. Colleges course fee, but in long run if you see, it’s worth the investment as it will save your time and energy in hunting for ships, which can sometimes take more than few months.

Note :- To become sponsored candidate you need to apply to that particular private firm/university which you want to join prior to appearing in IMU-CET, each college, has there own rounds of selection over and above IMU -CET exam, which is mandatory to pass to become eligible for applying in any Maritime University in India.

Now all the list of colleges affiliated to IMU are mentioned below with latest all india rank,

Select the Merchant Navy College in India, which is accredited by Directorate General of Shipping.

Choose the Merchant Navy College in India, which approved by Govt of India.

Choose the Merchant Navy College in India, which approved by Indian Maritime University.

Affiliated with AICTE.

Select which college provides the maritime courses with pre-sea training.

Select which college aids to our students get placements in the Merchant Navy.

I hope the above criteria list is helpful to you get aware of selecting the best Merchant Navy College in India. SAMS Marine is the best Merchant Navy College in Chennai, Tamilnadu which is approved by Directorate General of Shipping, Government of India, AICTC and offers the various maritime studies and study the following Merchant Navy courses

BE Marine Engineering

BSc Nautical Science

Diploma Nautical Science ( DNS )

General Purpose Rating ( GP Rating )

TME for Graduates

TME for Diploma Holders

STCW

OCCP

IMU- CET exam is mandatory for getting admission in the Merchant Navy colleges in India to study the Merchant Navy courses. Once you clear this exam, you can join the Merchant Navy College, which is located in India.

Merchant Navy is considered to be the backbone of international trade. Unlike the Indian Navy, it is purely commercial and includes transportation of goods (including oil, gas, container, bulk etc) for any private company.

So, considering all such factors I would rank these merchant navy colleges in India as -:

Tolani Maritime Institute , Pune

Samundra Institute of Maritime Studies, Lonavla

Great Eastern Instituteof Maritime Studies, Lonavla

Anglo Eastern Maritime Academy , Karjat

Training Ship Rahman, Mumbai

Even though you can join Merchant Navy after grade 12, however, it is advisable you pursue BSc in Nautical Sciences or BE/ B.Tech in Marine Engineering for better opportunities. This degree will open up scope for you in the field of Merchant Navy, private ships, cruise ships, etc.

Below I am listing a few colleges to pursue this field. Please note these are not an exhaustive list and are mere recommendations.

Colleges & Entrance Exam

T.S Chanakya- IMU- CET

Marine Engineering and Research Institute (MERI), Mumbai/ Kolkata- IMU- CET

IIT Kharagpur- IIT- JEE

Tolani Maritime Institute (TMI), Pune- TMI- SAT

Vels Academy of Maritime Studies, Chennai- Based on class 12th marks (merit)

International Maritime Institute, Noida- IMU CET

Samudra Institute of Maritime Studies- IMU- CET

As far as the college placements are concerned, no college guarantees 100% placement. However, if you have the requisite skills and knowledge pertaining to that field scope is endless.

So, if you have always dreamt of exploring the world, then merchant navy will surely provide you with a wonderful opportunity to see the world for free and to top it up you also get the status of an NRI if worked more than 184 days in international waters