Eight years prior, the first Indian owned vessel, the S.S. Loyalty sailed out of Bombay Harbour on 5 April 1919 for London.

M. J. Sayeed of NOL,[1] Vice Admiral R. D. Katari,[2] India's first Indian Chief of Naval Staff, DMET's founding Deputy Directors S. Kasthuri (who later went on to head INS Shivaji[3] and Cochin Shipyard) and T.K.T.

Many of the graduates rose to be the Principal Examiner of Engineers and the Chief Surveyor to the Government of India.

In 1947, the newly independent country's founders foresaw the need for an up-to-date Merchant Marine.

Article 246 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India mandates that the Indian Union has jurisdiction and the responsibility for "Maritime shipping and navigation, including shipping and navigation on tidal waters; provision of education and training for the mercantile marine and regulation of such education and training provided by States and other agencies."

Students trained at marine workshops during the day and attended classes by at night for the three years of the program.

In 1962, an all-India entrance examination was introduced to streamline the standard of the incoming class.

In 1975, the Indian shipping industry for the first time felt the requirement for graduate mechanical engineers.

Initially, the course was for six months and was named as Post-Graduate Course in Marine Engineering issued by Govt.

Later the course gained its recognition as Post-Graduate Diploma in Marine Engineering (PGDME) issued by IMU.

In 1977–78, an expert committee nominated by the government of India, headed by Prof. Shankar Lal, ex-Director of IIT Kharagpur, recommended changes in the DMET course curriculum, mainly pertaining to class contact hours and practical training.

As part of a revamp of the marine engineering training process in India, in October 1991, the government of India appointed a Committee on Maritime Education and Training (COMET), under the chairmanship of Dr. Chandrika Prasad Srivastava, ex-Secretary General of International Maritime Organization, to study the status of all maritime training institutes in the country and present recommendations.

Based on COMET's findings, the Merchant Marine Education and Research Trust (MMERT) was formed with the assistance of ship owners' associations, as a first step towards the formation of an Indian Maritime University, to supervise and control maritime education at Indian institutes.

The Ministry of Education and Culture accorded approval to the graduation certificate issued by the institution as being equivalent to a bachelor's degree in Marine Engineering with effect from 1980–1983 course for the purpose of recruitment to posts under the Central Government.

The campus, spanning over 33 acres, is equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure to support the academic and practical training of cadets.

The institute also features a comprehensive technical library, stocked with an extensive collection of books, journals, videos, and periodicals to facilitate in-depth learning.

Residence on campus is compulsory, with separate hostels and dormitories for male and female cadets.