About the Center

Since its foundation, Al-Balqa Applied University (BAU) has developed education and training programmes that serve the local and regional community, building specialised programmes and training centres across many fields.

Qualified seafarers remain in short supply, and the maritime labour market, on board ships and ashore, continues to need competent officers, engineers and port professionals, both in Jordan and internationally.

In line with Jordan’s national development plans and the Ministry of Transport’s strategy to establish maritime programmes in public universities, BAU launched the Bachelor of Maritime Transport Technology and the Diploma in Marine Engineering at Aqaba University College in 2013. Their aim is to prepare officers and engineers for service on board ships, and professionals for port and maritime transport operations, to international standards.

Both programmes are designed to the requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the STCW Convention 1978, as amended, and the Jordan Maritime Commission (JMC). Graduates receive a qualification accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and recognised by the Jordan Maritime Commission.

The Bachelor of Maritime Transport Technology comprises 132 credit hours, 99 of them in maritime subjects based on IMO model courses and the STCW Convention. It is accredited by the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission for Higher Education Institutions and forms the first stage of a deck officer’s education.

The Diploma in Marine Engineering comprises 105 credit hours, 92 of them in marine engineering subjects based on IMO model courses and the STCW Convention, and forms the first stage of an engineer officer’s education.

To complete this pathway, BAU established the Aqaba Maritime Education and Training Center (AMETC) on 15 September 2014 as a branch of its Center for Consultations, Studies and Training. As a public-university centre and the first maritime training centre in Aqaba, Jordan’s only seaport, AMETC trains and develops maritime personnel at local, regional and international levels. It delivers certificate-of-competency studies and STCW training courses for deck officers and engineers in coordination with the Ministry of Higher Education and the Jordan Maritime Commission.

AMETC was approved by the Jordan Maritime Commission in 2014 for deck and engineering certificate-of-competency studies. Its management system is certified by Bureau Veritas to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 21001:2018 and ISO 24438:2023 for maritime education and training.

On 17 February 2020, His Majesty King Abdullah II inaugurated the Center’s permanent headquarters, where he was briefed on its facilities and the progress of its education and training programmes.

Training is delivered in cooperation with the private sector through the Maritime Advisory Coalition, which provides qualified maritime lecturers under a cooperation agreement with the university, in accordance with IMO instruments and the STCW Convention, as amended.

Vision

To be a leading maritime education and training centre, accredited nationally and internationally to the standards of the International Maritime Organization and the Jordan Maritime Commission, whose graduates, degree and diploma holders and certified deck and engineer officers, serve the maritime and logistics sectors regionally and internationally.

Mission

To provide high-quality maritime education and training in navigation, marine engineering, ports and maritime logistics, in line with university standards and international conventions, producing competent holders of Jordanian certificates of competency who meet the needs of the maritime industry.

Core Values

The Center is committed to the following core values:

Professionalism: experienced lecturers, high skills and professional conduct.
Transparency: clarity, honesty and openness in all dealings.
Accountability: taking responsibility for decisions and actions.
Integrity: a clear commitment to doing what is right.
Equal opportunity: the same rights and fair treatment for everyone.
Teamwork: working together in teams and working groups.

Objectives of the Center

1. To supply the maritime industry with qualified seafarers and maritime professionals.

2. To give graduates of the Bachelor of Maritime Transport Technology and the Diploma in Marine Engineering the training required for their first certificates of competency, Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (STCW II/1) and Officer in Charge of an Engineering Watch (STCW III/1), qualifying them to serve on ships on unlimited voyages and to work in ports and the wider maritime sector.

3. To prepare serving officers and engineers for higher certificates of competency, including Chief Mate, Master, Second Engineer and Chief Engineer, under the STCW Convention, and to raise professional standards through specialised short courses.

4. To deliver the mandatory STCW courses and specialised short courses that seafarers at all levels need to continue serving at sea and to revalidate their certificates.

5. To conduct applied studies and research and provide technical consultancy to the maritime transport sector.

6. To conduct marine surveys.

7. To create employment opportunities for the local community.