SAMUNDRA INSTITUTE OF MARITIME STUDIES LONAVALA

The Samundra Institute of Maritime Studies (SIMS) is an advanced Indian centre for marine engineering and navigation, providing pre-sea and post-sea training to cadets and ship officers. Operational since 1 August 2005, its first batch comprised 40 deck cadets, with Graduate Marine Engineering training starting in October 2005. The institute is recognised by the D.G. Shipping, Government of India, and affiliated to the Indian Maritime University. It is sponsored by Executive Ship Management Private Limited (ESM), Singapore, and located on fifty acres along the Indrayani River near Pune. Facilities include residential accommodation for 400 candidates, an auditorium, a ship-in-campus, a maritime science centre, workshops, and a swimming pool. It hosts a 240° full mission bridge simulator, an engine room simulator, and a liquid cargo handling simulator. The campus, designed by architect Christopher Charles Benninger, is notable for solar energy use and sustainable water management. In 2015, DG Shipping ranked it No. 1 among Indian maritime training institutes. SIMS has received multiple architecture awards, including recognition at the World Architecture Festival 2009.