The department was established in 1952. During the last 60 years of its existence, the department has made significant contributions to the development of shipbuilding and shipping industries in the country including the Indian Navy, Indian Coastal Guard, DRDO and other allied organisations. The department and its alumni have important and strategic links with universities round the world and major shipyard and dock organizations in our country. In addition to teaching and training at the various levels of bachelors, masters and doctoral programs, the Department is also actively involved in various research and industrial projects sponsored by government, research organizations and industry. In a broad sense, this discipline is concerned with design, development, operation and planning of systems that operate in the marine and ocean environment. Areas of study under this include marine vehicles for cargo and passenger transportation, offshore activities, ocean mining, ocean and marine hydrodynamics, harnessing of non-conventional energy sources etc., reflecting the diversity of the field. In order to provide a multidisciplinary knowledge base, the course curriculum is framed by integrating many disciplines in engineering sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, humanities and management. The academic programs prepare students for a highly rewarding career in this rapidly expanding field. The academic and research programs are designed emphasizing on cutting edge knowledge in the subject areas of marine structures, hydrodynamics, ocean environment, hydroelasticity, offshore technology, design of marine vehicles & systems, coastal engineering, marine production and planning, coastal processes. Various laboratories of the Department provide opportunity to the students to gain valuable practical 'on-hand' experience. Laboratory work and design projects are incorporated extensively throughout the academic curriculum by means of the core and elective courses.

The vision of the department is to create research and teaching excellence in core areas of Ocean Engineering & Naval Architecture. The department is continuously upgrading the teaching courses as per the needs of industry and trend in academics. Department has offered several video courses under the NPTEL program and more courses will be added in the frontier areas in the coming years. Number of workshops and short-terms courses are being organized to meet the industry requirement and creating awareness on the frontier areas of marine science and technology. Department has introduced International summer/ winter terms into the academic programs. In the recent years, emphasis is on the up-gradation of the existing facilities and infrastructures. Recently, there is a rise in the strength of research scholars in various areas of Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture. In the coming years, department will broaden its research activities. Various scholarships like Prof. J. P. Ghose award, Prof. P. K. Muhuri award, Prof. R. P. Gokarn Innovation grant, etc are introduced for creating competitive environment among students of Marine Science and Technology. The bi-annual conference ICSOT organized by the department in collaboration with The Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), UK has helped the department to bring academia and industry together to a common platform for addressing issues of common interest. The annual festival SAMUDRAMANTHAN brings together students from academics institutions related marine fields across the country to a common platform.