The History of the CMU

The CMU has navigated a long journey from its inception on September 15, 1980 at 9 Norman Road in Kingston. It was then the Jamaica Maritime Training Institute, JMTI – a joint project of Jamaica and Norway. The plan was to train 30 seafarers for the Jamaican Merchant Marine fleet.

By May 1984, the entire JMTI was in new buildings at the current location – Palisadoes Park near the Norman Manley International Airport in the Jamaican capital Kingston.

On January 4, 1993, the JMTI became the Jamaica Maritime Institute, JMI, as a statutory body under the laws of Jamaica.

The institute was now being fully managed by the Jamaican Government with the first Jamaicanborn Executive Director – Lieutenant Commander Michael Rodriguez. Later, when the JMI widened its focus beyond training seafarers and expanded to support the needs of the region, the name was changed to the Caribbean Maritime Institute under the CMI Act 2001.

Precipitated by its rapid growth and expansion, in 2004, the Institute sought and gained accreditation from the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) for the Diploma in International Shipping and Logistics (DISL) and the Associate of Applied Science Degree in Industrial Systems Operation and Maintenance (ADISOM).

Journey to the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU)

The vision blossomed further when in 2006 the Institute embraced a new and expanded vision and mission directed by its new strategic philosophy known as the Blue Ocean Philosophy. Consistent with the Blue Ocean Philosophy, the Institute expanded its curricula to include degrees in Shipping, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Security Administration and Management as well as Engineering.

Continued developments between 2007and 2016, paved the way for a major transition in 2017 when on September 28, the CMI officially transitioned to University status.

That move followed the passage of legislation in the Jamaican Parliament to grant the institution university status.