KOLLAM: The Kerala Maritime Institute at Neendakara here was inaugurated by Ports Minister K Babu on Sunday.The institute is tipped to further propel the maritime education and training and research activities in the state.
As per official accounts, the proposal for setting such an institute was mooted in 2002. But it faced several hurdles as the government’s decision to set such an institute at Valiyathura, in Thiruvananthapuram, was opposed by the Director General of Shipping (DGS).
Then discussions regarding setting up an institute at Kasargod gained momentum as officials were of the opinion that they could tap the growing number of students pursuing for maritime courses from the northern part of the state.
A report by the Kerala Maritime Society cites that the institute will be beneficial for student folks from Kerala and Karnataka. The government accorded sanction for establishing Maritime Institute at Meenja, Kasargod, on December 2007. But the Board meeting of Kerala Maritime Society, which was convened in 2011, had observed that Meenja is not a viable option as the performance of the institute there was not encouraging.
The land identified by the local panchayat is a remote place and above all there was no water body near it for carrying out maritime training activities.