The World Maritime University (WMU) could soon be heading to India. The shipping ministry is hopeful of getting a regional chapter of WMU established in the country. Shipping minister GK Vasan on Wednesday said discussions are on for an India branch.
?When the secretary general of the International Maritime Organisation called on me last month in Delhi, we took up with him the need for a closer co-operation between the Indian Maritime University (IMU) and WMU at Malmo, Sweden and International Maritime Legal Institute, Malta. We also discussed the possibility of establishing a regional branch here in India. We would be following up all these initiatives to bring world-class maritime education in our country,? Vasan said at the 4th University Day celebrations of the Indian Maritime University here.
Addressing the gathering, Vasan said the world bank has estimated that the global maritime trade will increase to nearly 40,000 billion tonne miles in 2015, compared to 29,000 billion tonne miles in 2005. The trade has slowly moved eastwards and is now Asia-centric. It has grown tremendously over the years with economic boom in China, India and other developing economies in Asia.
?The maritime sector is undergoing rapid vertical and horizontal integration in many activities. The evidence for this lies in the growing number of mergers and alliances among the ports, shipping lines and logistics service providers,? Vasan said.
