Govt to set up Centre for Inland and Coastal Maritime Technology at IIT Kharagpur

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

“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 Narendra Modi,” minister of state for shipping and chemicals and fertilizers, Mansukh Mandaviya, said while speaking on the occasion.

The state-of-the-art centre, which is being set up under the flagship Sagarmala programme, 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, the minister said.

“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 Centre for Inland and Coastal Maritime Technology (CICMT) is being setup to address this long felt need and to provide impetus to development of inland waterways and coastal shipping in the country,” Mandaviya further stated.

Director, CICMT, IIT Kharagpur said that with the 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 Rs69.20 crore, is being funded under the Sagarmala programme. 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 centre will focus on ship design for coastal/inland waterways, shipbuilding technology and structural design, transport systems and 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 programme and will mark 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.