"The first batch of 40 students will be joining the institute in August this year. The institute has been created with a view to meet the requirement of marine engineers", GMB Chief Nautical Officer S C Mathur said.
A marine engineer is in-charge of operations and maintenance of all machinery on board merchant ships.
The institute, which is set up in collaboration with U V Patel Engineering College in north Gujarat, a constituent of Ganpat University, is backed by the Gujarat government which had signed an MoU for the purpose in 2007.
"It was a long-felt need that an institution to offer a B.Tech degree, leading to a career as an officer in Merchant Navy, should be established in the state, which has the longest coastline of 1,600 km", Mathur said.
"We are tying up with shipping companies like Adani, Essar, Ocean Sparkle, Shahi among others so that students can get on-board sea-time training in the fourth year of their course, a pre-requisite for securing a degree", he said.
The main objective behind setting up this institute was to check outflow of local lads to other states, and train them here itself, Mathur said.
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The mandatory clearances required to establish and run the institute from DG Shipping, and All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) have been secured, he said.
The GMB also plans to start offering a B.Sc level course in nautical sciences, for which it has signed an understanding with Chajjumal Trust of Vadodara, and expects the college to come up in next one year.