DNS (Diploma in Nautical Science)
A one-year residential pre-sea course for future deck officers, followed by sea time as a deck cadet. This is the GEIMS route for a student after Class 12 PCM.
GEIMS Lonavala · college guide
Great Eastern Institute of Maritime Studies: Courses, Eligibility and How to Prepare
For Class 12 PCM students — Physics, Chemistry, Maths · age 17 to 25 (relaxations apply) · girls and boys. Not PCM? This path is not open to you.
A plain guide to the Great Eastern Institute of Maritime Studies: what it teaches a Class 12 PCM student, how admission works, and how NavPath prepares you for the exam and interview.
NavPath Academy is not affiliated with Great Eastern Institute of Maritime Studies. This is an independent preparation guide.
Great Eastern (GEIMS) · Lonavala, Maharashtra
What Great Eastern Institute of Maritime Studies is
The Great Eastern Institute of Maritime Studies (GEIMS) is a residential pre-sea institute at Tungarli, Lonavala, Maharashtra. It is a division of The Great Eastern Shipping Company, one of India’s largest private shipowners. The institute’s website states that it is affiliated to the Indian Maritime University and rated by the Directorate General of Shipping.
GEIMS trains a few hundred boys and girls each year. Its website lists four pre-sea courses: DNS, GME, ETO and a General Purpose Rating course. B.Sc Nautical Science and B.Tech Marine Engineering are not on that list; if you want a degree course, confirm the current course list on the institute’s website.
Courses
What GEIMS offers a Class 12 PCM student
Confirmed on the institute’s website. Confirm the current course list on the institute’s website before you apply.
GME and ETO
For engineering graduates only, not for a Class 12 student.
General Purpose Rating
A rating course, not an officer route. It has different eligibility and leads to a different career track.
How admission to GEIMS works
IMU CET
DNS at an IMU-affiliated institute sits on IMU CET. The next public cycle is IMU CET May 2027.
Institute selection
GEIMS runs its own application on its website. Because it belongs to a shipowner, its selection can include a test, a psychometric round and an interview by the company, and the institute states that cadets are trained with the parent company’s fleet in mind.
Medical
A DG Shipping-approved medical with deck-side eyesight and colour-vision standards.
Sponsorship terms
Read the written terms carefully: which ships, what sea-time arrangement, and who decides. The institute and the shipping company are two separate decision-makers.
Great Eastern (GEIMS) · before you apply
Questions to settle before you apply
- Which course is right for you: DNS, B.Sc Nautical Science or B.Tech Marine Engineering? Decide this in counselling with a parent present.
- Have you checked eyesight and colour vision with an approved doctor? Do it before you spend a year preparing.
- Have you read the institute’s current eligibility for Class 12 marks, English and age on its own website?
- Do you understand that admission and company sponsorship are two separate decisions by two separate bodies?
Read the Merchant Navy career ladder for the full officer route, then check your eligibility before you choose a course.
Questions families ask about Great Eastern (GEIMS)
Does GEIMS offer B.Sc Nautical Science or B.Tech Marine Engineering?
Its website lists DNS, GME, ETO and General Purpose Rating. Confirm the current course list on the institute’s website before you plan around a degree course there.
Is GEIMS the same as Great Eastern Shipping?
GEIMS is the training division of The Great Eastern Shipping Company. The institute trains; the company decides which cadets sail on its ships.
Is IMU CET needed for GEIMS?
DNS is an IMU programme, so yes. Plan for IMU CET May 2027 and the institute’s own selection together.
Do girls join GEIMS?
The institute states that it trains boys and girls. Academic and medical rules are the same for both. See our Women in Merchant Navy guide.
How does NavPath prepare me for GEIMS?
With a GEIMS-specific exam and interview module, mock panels with sailing officers, psychometric practice and spoken English from week one.
More institute guides
Guides for other maritime institutes
Tolani Maritime Institute · Anglo-Eastern Maritime Academy · Samundra Institute of Maritime Studies · AMET University · HIMT College
Know the course before you sit the exam.
Check your eligibility, then apply for NEST, our IMU CET model test. Confirm every admission detail on Great Eastern Institute of Maritime Studies’s own website.