Marine Engineers are responsible for the safe running of ship engines, boilers, all the machineries of the ship, steam connections as well as maintenance, repair, upgradation and construction of all the relevant marine machinery. They are the overall incharge of the engine and its crew and ensure the safety and standards of the marine body. With modern development, the role of Marine Engineers has widened and smoothened, too, Electronis navigation has helped the Marine Engineering a lot

The responsibilities of a Marine Engineer are large and therefore require some essential personal attributes. The person should have organising ability, team spirit, ability to get on well with others, be cool and cope well under pressure, should be able to handle crisis, good at conceptualising forms and structures, excellent communication skills, physical fitness and above all, liking for sea. The admiration of sea itself will develop and enhance these qualities

The very nature of the job fascinates many youngsters to take Marine Engineering as their career. They too, like their ancestors, dream of sea faring and modern technological developments have made their dream more reachable than evey before

Eligibility:
The minimum educational qualification is 10+2 with PCM (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics). However, Biology at 10+2 is an added advantage. There are also certain medical norms (physical fitness) that need to be met to get entry into the Marine Engineering courses. One should have a good physique with sound health. The minimum height should health. The minimum height should be 150cms with correlated weight and proportionate chest with minimum 5-cm expansion

Courses:
There are two main training centres-Training Ship Chanakya, Mumbai and Marine Engineering Research Institute (MERI), Kolkata - which conduct courses in Marine Engineering. The New Delhi - based International Maritime Institute also conducts courses related to the field. The degree offered in these courses is that of Engineering or B.Sc. in Nautical Sciences. A number of private institutes also offer courses in Marine Engineering. However, such courses must be approved by the Mumbai-based Director General of Shipping. It is to be noted that in most of the institutes only male candidates are allowed to carry on the courses. However, there are a few institutes, which also allow female candidates. Aspirants must check up with such institutes before appearing in the entrance examination

Prospects and Remunerations:
A Marine Engineer has a number of options after he earns the degree. Marine Engineers primarily work in the Indian Merchant Navy. The Merchant Navy mainly comprises of tankers, liners, passenger vehicles, ore carriers and other type of specialised ships. These Merchant Navy ships are operated by public sector as well as private sector shipping companies. One has diversified option to select the ship one wants to join. A Marine Engineer enters as a Junior Engineer
Even at the entry level, the remuneration received by a Marine Engineer is high one. A person who joins the Merchant Navy as Junior Engineer earns around Rs.25,000 to Rs.30,000 per month in any foreign vessel. But, the most important benefit is that, by virtue of travelling for more than six months outside Indian borders, he gets the status of an NRI (Non-Resident Indian) and thus gets exemption from taxes plus he also gets other benefits too. Apart from ships, Marine Engineers are also employed for the designing, research, consulting, training and education purposes in the related field

Whrer To Study
Training Ship Chanakya Karave, Nerul, Navi Mumbai - 400 706 It offers three-year B.Sc. in Nautical Sciences, which is affiliated to the University of Mumbai
Marine Engineering Research Institutes, Kolkata It offers four-year Graduate Certificate in Marine Engineering
International Maritime Institute, New Delhi
Indira Gandhi National Open University, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi It offers B.Sc. (Nautical Science)
Leading shipping companies that hire Marine Engineers :
Shipping Corporation of India. 13, Strand Road, Kolkata - 700 001
Shipping Corporation of India. 245 Cama Road, Mumbai - 400 021
Binny International 101, Marine Lines, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400 021
The Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd. T.S.Jawahar Pilot Bunder, Colaba, Mumbai - 400 005
Tolani Shipping Company Ltd. 10 A, Bakhtawar Road, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400 021
Kerala Lines Ltd. Wheel House, Indira Gandhi Road, Willingdon Island, Cochin, Kerala - 682 003
National Institute of Port Management Training Coordinator (Marine), East Coast Road, Ulthnadi, Chennai - 600 096
Dredging Corporation of India Ltd. Dredge House, Port Area, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh - 530 035
Poompuhar Shipping Corporation 304 - 305 Anna Salai, Teynampet, Chennai - 600 018
Gujarat Marine Ltd. 6/28 Silver Apartments, Akurli Road, No.1 Kandivili East, Mumbai - 400 001