India Intros Maritime Technology Center

Indian Ministry of shipping has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with IIT Kharagpur on Wednesday for setting up a Centre for Inland and Coastal Maritime Technology (CICMT).

CICMT will provide technological, vessel design and applied research support for inland waterways and coastal shipping, said a government release.

Speaking on the occasion, Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Shipping said, “Indigenous technology is the need of the hour for the maritime sector, and we are determined to promote Make- In- India as per the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.”

Detailing about the state-of-the-art centre which is being set up the under the flagship Sagarmala Program, Mandaviya said that the project is of strategic long-term interest for the port and maritime sector of the country and will provide tremendous impetus to Inland water transportation and coastal shipping.

“First of its kind, this centre will be a hub for latest technology tools for maritime sector and reduce India’s dependence on foreign institutions. It will also reduce the cost of research drastically and result in cost and time savings for work in the port and maritime sector,” he added.

“Currently, there is no testing and experimentation facility available in the country for inland and coastal vessels for which the shipbuilders have to approach various European countries. The state-of-the-art Center for Inland and Coastal Maritime Technology (CICMT) is being set-up to address this long felt need and to provide impetus to development of inland waterways and coastal shipping in the country,” Shri Mandaviya further added.

On this occasion Director, CICMT, IIT Kharagpur said that with signing of this MoA and further setting up of this centre India will become a key player in ship modal testing facility as only four other countries in the world have this testing facility at present.

The project, costing Rs 69.20 crore, is being funded under the Sagarmala program. The funding for CICMT is for 5 years after which revenues generated from the end users will make it sustainable.

CICMT at IIT Kharagpur will provide technological support, research, testing and experimentation facility to agencies involved in inland water transport, shipbuilding, ports. etc.

The Center will focus on ship design for coastal/inland waterways, shipbuilding technology and structural design, transport systems & logistics, cryogenic cargo handling, green/renewable energy harvesting from coastal and inland waters and automation and artificial intelligence (AI) for maritime operations.

Setting up of CICMT signifies a major leap in indigenous innovation and cutting edge technology support to the port and maritime sector directly contributing to the Sagarmala program  and  is based on close collaboration amongst government, academic institutions and industry to make applied research relevant to day to day ground work in the port and maritime sector.