Graduate Marine Engineer (GME) Course

Running and repairing the ship's engines, generators, pumps, boilers and electrical systems. You stand engine-room watches, do planned maintenance, handle breakdowns and follow safety and anti-pollution rules. Contracts are months at sea, followed by leave at home.

A day in the work
On a typical day at sea you may stand a four-hour watch in the engine room, checking temperatures, pressures and alarms and writing the log. In the hours between, you help fix a pump, change a filter or test safety equipment, working under the Second or Chief Engineer. The engine room is hot and loud, and you wear ear protection and boiler suits. Your time off is spent eating with the crew, calling home when the signal allows, or studying for the next exam.

1. Step 1 · Class 11–12Take Physics, Chemistry and Maths, and aim for a mechanical engineering seat. Get your eyes tested early. Colour blindness rules you out of sea-going engineering courses, and a lot of eyesight rules are strict.
2. Step 2 · 4 yearsComplete B.E./B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering or Naval Architecture from an AICTE-approved college, IIT or university engineering college. The minimum is 50% in the final year and 50% in English. Sponsored batches often ask for 60–65% (reported). Get a passport while you are still studying.
3. Step 3 · Final year or afterApply to a DG Shipping approved institute. IMU and SCI allow up to 28 years at course start for General candidates, with relaxations. Private institutes can set lower limits, some as low as 23–25 years (reported). Then pass the selection process and the medical by a DG Shipping approved doctor. The selection process is a merit list at IMU, and an online exam plus interview at SCI.
4. Step 4 · About 8–12 monthsShore-based pre-sea training. SCI's GME runs 8 months of this. Other institutes run about 12 months. You study marine engines, auxiliary machinery, ship construction, electrical systems and safety, with workshop and simulator work.
5. Step 5 · About 6–10 monthsShipboard training on a real ship, recorded in a Training and Assessment Record (TAR) Book. SCI's batch has 10 months (4+6) on SCI ships. Other institutes ask for a sponsorship letter from a shipping company for about 6 months of onboard training. Getting that sponsor is a separate step and is not guaranteed. (reported — check with the official body)
6. Step 6 · MEO Class IV examMechanical and Marine Engineering graduates are exempt from Part A, so you go straight to Part B (written and oral) with DG Shipping. Some combined-stream degrees must still pass some Part A papers. Pass it and you get the CoC to work as a 4th Engineer.
7. Optional · LaterCollect more sea time and sit MEO Class II and Class I exams to become Second Engineer and then Chief Engineer. This takes years of sailing.

• GME after a mechanical or naval architecture degreeStarts after: B.E./B.Tech About 18 months of training after the degree. You must already have the degree, and you need to meet the age limit.
• B.Tech Marine Engineering straight after Class 12Starts after: Class 12 with PCM A 4-year degree at IMU, which asks for 60% in PCM and a valid IMU-CET rank, and has lower age limits (General male 25). It suits a student who is sure about the sea early. See IMU's own page for the current rules.
• Diploma then 2-year marine engineering courseStarts after: 3-year diploma in mechanical, marine or electrical engineering Another route in for diploma holders. Old DG Shipping criteria exist for it, so check the current notice before planning.Reported — confirm on the official site.

Fees from: SCI MTI – GME-16 page (fee, stipend) · SCI MTI – FAQ · Cochin Shipyard METI – joining instructions · Buddy4Study on IMU PGDME fee (reported) · IMU Counselling 2026 fee structure (PDF, IMU counselling portal). Fees change every year — check the college's own fee page before you pay.

Pay at sea can be good and is often paid in foreign currency, but it varies a lot between trainee and officer ranks, between companies and ship types, and between Indian and foreign employers. Trainee years pay little or nothing, and you only earn fully once you hold the CoC and get contract after contract.

For women, SCI gives a fee concession in its GME and charges ₹4.50 lakh against ₹5.75 lakh for men. Both SCI and IMU give women 2 extra years on the age limit, and SC/ST and OBC-NCL candidates also get age relaxations. SCI says its GME seats are reserved as per government policy. Students with disabilities should note that the DG Shipping medical rules for eyesight, hearing and colour vision are strict, and I found no relaxation for them in these official pages.

• Class 7–9Build or take apart a simple working model of an engine or pump, such as a Stirling engine, a small steam toy or a water-pump model, and write down how each part moves.
• Class 10–12Get an eye check, including colour vision, from an eye doctor. Then read IMU's marine engineering page to see what the training involves and what the entry rules are.Open link ↗
• College or afterStudy a free NPTEL course on thermodynamics or internal combustion engines, which ships' engine-room theory builds on.Open link ↗

• Medical standards are strict and are checked before admission and again at renewal. Poor colour vision, or eyesight outside the limits, can stop this path. Check this before you pay any fee.
• SCI asks GME trainees to sign an indemnity bond. It says that if SCI needs you, you serve on SCI ships for 3 years after the onboard training. Read bond terms carefully for any institute or company.
• The course fee does not buy a job. SCI itself says its training offer is not an employment guarantee. Sponsorship by a shipping company covers the onboard training and may not cover the fee.
• Many institutes use the names PGDME or GME for the same type of course. Only DG Shipping approved institutes count. Check the approval on the DG Shipping website before you pay.