India's maritime authority has withdrawn all course approvals of a training institute in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The institute is R.R. Marines Academy, approval number MTI 104026. MTI means Maritime Training Institute.
The authority is the DGMA, the Directorate General of Maritime Administration. It used to be called the Directorate General of Shipping. Its withdrawal order is dated 26 October 2026 and is on the DGMA website.
Which courses it taught
The institute was approved for six short safety courses for seafarers:
Basic Safety Training.
PSCRB, Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats. This course teaches you to use lifeboats, life rafts and rescue boats.
Refresher training for PSCRB.
Refresher training for FPFF, Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting.
Refresher training for PST, Personal Survival Techniques.
Security training for seafarers with designated security duties.
What went wrong
On 14 November 2025, the authority sent the institute a show cause notice. This is an official letter that asks an institute to explain a problem. It was about violations in the exit exams. These are the final exams at the end of a course.
The authority also told the institute not to take any new students during the investigation. The order says the institute still took a new batch of students. These students could not sit the exit exams. So they could not get certificates for the courses they enrolled in.
The institute said its manager had made all the violations. The DGMA said this explanation was hard to accept.
Seafarers say they paid for jobs
Three seafarers who did basic safety courses at the institute complained to the DGMA. They said the institute's owner promised them jobs on ships. They said he asked for lakhs of rupees as a "service charge". One lakh is 100,000 rupees.
The seafarers said they paid him in cash and by bank transfer. They gave the DGMA documents to support their claims. The DGMA said the evidence showed "serious illegality" at first view. It suspended the institute while it investigated.
How the case ended
The authority sent a second show cause notice on 26 November 2025. The institute replied on 2 December 2025. The Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) in Kandla then investigated the exit exam problems. The MMD is the DGMA's regional office.
On 24 March 2026, MMD Kandla sent its report. It recommended taking away the institute's approval. The DGMA's STCW Compliance Board accepted this at its 72nd meeting.
The final order says all approvals of the institute are withdrawn from 26 March 2026. The DGMA signed this order on 26 October 2026. Indian news agency IANS reported it on 27 October.
What it means for seafarers
If you studied at this institute, check your course certificates on the DGMA e-Governance system. Ask your local MMD office if you are not sure they are valid.
Before you book a course, check that the institute and the course are approved by the DGMA. The DGMA publishes a list of withdrawn and suspended institutes.
A training institute cannot sell you a job on a ship. Never pay a "service charge" for a job promise. Under the MLC, the Maritime Labour Convention, seafarers should not pay for recruitment or placement.
If someone asks you for money for a job, keep the receipts and messages. Report it to the DGMA.
Cover photo: Orange lifeboats at the Petrofac lifeboat training centre in Torry, Aberdeen, Scotland, in September 2012. Illustrative photo. Photo: Bill Harrison/Wikimedia Commons (Geograph), CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped).
Sources: DGMA: Withdrawal Order, M/s. R.R. Marines Academy, MTI No. 104026 (26 Oct 2026, PDF), DGMA Training Branch: Withdrawal / Suspension list, IANS via The Hawk: Maritime Training Institute in Jaipur loses DGMA approval following irregularities (27 Oct 2026).
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