The original school, based in Nelson, was established in 1976 as the New Zealand School of Fisheries and later became known as the Nelson Maritime School. It was officially re-launched under its new name – the International Maritime Institute of New Zealand (IMINZ) at an industry event at the Nelson campus on 20 November 2014.
NMIT Chief Executive Tony Gray said maritime education and training was a specialist area for NMIT. Seafood was the country’s fifth largest export earner and the Top of the South region had the country’s largest fishing fleet as well as significant tourism and merchant shipping operations.
“We’ve listened to industry and as a result, invested heavily in teaching and learning facilities to support maritime. We believe NMIT has the potential to further contribute to economic growth and export earnings in this area through providing training opportunities that reflect a high-tech and well-skilled workforce.”
Captain Katherine Walker, IMINZ Manager said today’s maritime students came from all around the world and could end up working anywhere.
“The maritime industry is a highly competitive global business and we wanted the institute’s facilities, resources and now its new name, to reflect this.”
In 2013, NMIT’s maritime provision attracted around 850 students studying a wide range of technical subjects from short courses of a few days duration through to senior navigation and engineering qualifications for cargo ships and fishing vessels.
While most students came from New Zealand, international student numbers are increasing, particularly from the Asia-Pacific region.
The International Maritime Institute of New Zealand offers an extensive range of STCW and domestic maritime licenses and short courses designed to support the fishing, maritime transport and maritime tourism sectors. IMINZ has New Zealand’s newest full mission marine engineering simulation system as well as ship’s navigational bridge, radio and electronic chart simulators, all situated in a modern new building. Other facilities include New Zealand’s only three story maritime fire-fighting facility, a cargo ship’s lifeboat and launching davits, a fast rescue boat and new net loft. IMINZ staff are experienced mariners with many years of industry experience.
