Our Correspondent

CHITTAGONG, Jan 7: Bangladesh Marine Academy (BMA) celebrated its golden jubilee on 4th and 5th January amid festive mood participated by some 2000 people including the cadets, ex-cadets, BMA officials and their families.

A number of cultural and social programmes were arranged during the celebration sponsored by AB Bank Ltd and co-sponsored by Partex Group and media partner was ATN Bangla.

In the 50th anniversary of BMA its cadets have presented a 3.50 ton

ship anchor to the Academy which was unveiled by the Commandant Sajjad Hussain in presence of the ex-cadets. The anchor was installed by Western Marine Shipyard as a token of appreciation towards the Academy from its ex-cadets.

BMA was established in 1962 and it holds five decades of long reputation of producing trained and skilful marine cadets. The Academy was recognized as a branch of World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden since 1990.

It is one of the most renowned institutes for maritime education in Asia. So far, the Academy has produced nearly 3500 skilled and disciplined cadets for national and international fleets, BMA sources said.

Each year 200 cadets join the merchant ships after graduating from

the Academy. These professional then sail in vessels across the globe and contribute immensely to our national economy, according to BMA statistics.

Every year, 6000 applicants apply for admission to the Academy, among whom only 300 are selected. From the year 2012 the BMA has initiated female cadet training.