IIT Madras Researchers Establishing Centre of Excellence in Maritime Sector

A team of researchers at India’s IIT Madras is working on a project to establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in the maritime sector. The initiative aims to reduce India’s reliance on foreign expertise and technology in the maritime industry, leading to significant cost savings for the country. The CoE is focused on developing both technological innovations and trained manpower to replace foreign expertise in the Indian maritime sector. It has received funding from the Government of India’s ‘Institute of Eminence’ initiative and is operated by faculty from the IIT-Madras Department of Ocean Engineering.

The centre’s projects include the development of technologies impacting offshore and coastal engineering, green shipping, future ports, and offshore renewable energy. Among its successful outcomes is the research and development of cost-effective ‘Wavemakers’ for testing marine structures, reducing costs significantly compared to imported devices. Additionally, the researchers have developed a smartphone-based ‘e-Navigation’ system for inland water transport (IWT), as well as an Indigenous Satellite-based Automatic Identification System (SatAIS) to reduce subscription costs for vessel tracking and maritime surveillance. The team plans to expand the CoE’s capabilities to cover niche areas of prototype testing, marine autonomous vehicles, and the application of AI and machine learning in marine fields.

The researchers aim to make the CoE in Maritime Sector a global hub, accommodating startups and raising funds for future projects. Their vision is to establish a world-class facility in IIT Madras for ocean engineering, contributing to the development of a healthy blue economy for India.

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