The first Indian owned vessel S.S. "Loyalty" sailed out of Bombay Harbour on 5th April 1919 for London. The vessel was owned by M/s. Scindia Steam Navigation Co. The Master and the other officers were British. Subsequently a resolution was moved by Sir P. S. Sivaswamy Iyer in the Indian legislative assembly R.I.M.S Dufferin was acquired by the Department of Commerce and converted into a training ship. On December 1927, the first batch of 50 nautical cadets joined the I.M.M.T.S. DUFFERIN. In 1935, training of engineering cadets was also commenced on the Dufferin. The number of cadets admitted each year was 25 nautical and 25 engineering cadets. Ever since, Indian Maritime Training sector has grown and has established itself a serious player in the World Fleet and has a long standing tradition of producing High quality officers. To a large extent this was made possible by the Indian government's visionary initiative of establishing a few excellent maritime training institutes immediately after independence.
In recent years India's position of leadership has been significantly weakened by an inability to keep pace with the technical advancements and sophistication. Inadequate allocation of resources for maritime training from the government and lack of a suitable environment to facilitate private investment led to this decline.
The Hoon Group, a reputed organization based in Kolkata, having decades of experience in Hospitality & Business management and having a family tradition of having Senior Merchant Navy officers, starting its work in 2011-2012 in establishing a Maritime Education centre with its emphasis on Quality and Culture. Thus, HMI was born. HMI, Kolkata is a Post sea / Modular course institute built in the Heart of Kolkata’s Maritime District.
HMI is an initiative resourced and created by Indian Merchant Navy officers to cater the Merchant Navy Officers of India. Since the promoters are seafarers themselves, the Group aims at not solely increasing the numbers of Indian Merchant Navy officers but preparing Quality officers inculcated with ethical Sailing Traditions.
In the dawn of year 2025, HMI extended its boundaries to start a New , Modern and a State-of the Art Maritime Post-sea Institute in the Institutional area of Sector-62 , Noida. This Campus Building of about 45000 Sq. Feet, has an In-house Swimming Pool, Mock up facilty and Maritime Simulators etc, inline with the group’s core legacy of providing Quality Maritime Training at reasonable Fees. The Institute is located at a Walking distance from the Sector-62 Station of Noida-Delhi Metro Blue line and the Govt. Women’s Hostel. This Centre of Excellence is designed to train better seafarers for safer seas.
In Future, The Hoon Group endeavours to create more jobs for Seafarers both on shore and at sea and would strive to setup a post sea college on the four pillars of – Quality, Maritime Safety, Environmental Protection and Placement before admission.
