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. In 2001, MERI (Mumbai) launched a dual-degree course in Maritime Science, with admissions through IIT-JEE Extension List. The Indian marine engineer became synonymous with DMET. Almost every major shipping company in the world has at least one DMETian in its onshore management personnel or floating staff. Many of the world's largest vessels, the ULCCs, are manned by Indian marine engineers. DMET graduates went on to found marine engineering workshops, build companies, found maritime training institutes, develop surveying standards, and pursue careers in management. The four government-owned maritime institutes – LBS CAMSAR Mumbai, TS Chanakya, Navi Mumbai, MERI Kolkata, and MERI Mumbai – were integrated under the auspices of the Indian Maritime University in 2008. DMET/MERI celebrated its Diamond Jubilee on 14 December 2010. Training MERI has a workshop with machinery, equipment, steam engine and a diesel engine (Kawasaki-MAN, 6000 BHP) for training and to meet IMO and AICTE requirements. Students visit marine workshops for on the job training. Laboratories are provided for cadets/students to conduct practical experiments. Class rooms and teaching aids are in compliance with AICTE requirements. A new establishment for the training of cadets in basic firefighting is being set up in the campus and is projected to near completion soon. IMU Kolkata Campus now holds the honor of having a humongous working steam reciprocating engine by the efforts of the cadets and the workshop faculty itself who have restored the previously idle engine. It receives steam from a CT Package boiler, or a Foster Wheeler boiler that is independently fired and is capable of superheating the steam. 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 Graduation certificate issued by the institution received recognition from the Institution of Engineers (India) as an exempting qualification from their A and B