The Antwerp Maritime Academy (''Dutch'': Hogere Zeevaartschool Antwerpen; ''French'': École supérieure de navigation d'Anvers) is a university college in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, located in the north of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. The academy trains future officers of the Merchant Navy and Belgian Navy. The Antwerp Maritime Academy is the only

Vocational university A vocational university or university of applied sciences (UAS), less commonly called a polytechnic university is an institution of higher education and increasingly research that provides applied professional education and grants academic de ...

allowed to teach in both

Vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

s, being Dutch and French. There are two sections at the academy: Nautical science and

Marine engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circ ...

: results in a

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Marine Engineering after a three-year cycle. To obtain a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Marine engineering a second, one-year cycle is required. Nautical science: results in a

in Nautical Sciences after a three-year cycle. To obtain a

in Nautical Sciences a second, one-year cycle is required. The Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Nautical Sciences are multidimensional: technical subjects combined with languages, economics, (maritime) medicine and (international) law. The courses do not only have to comply with regulations set by the local education authorities, they have to meet stringent international and quality-standard requirements set by the

International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO; ; ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating maritime transport. The IMO was established following agreement at a ...

(IMO). The Antwerp Maritime Academy is, because of her specific profile, the smallest academy in Flanders with ca. 670 students.

History

14th century marine officers have been trained in Antwerp since at least the 14th century.

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

founded an academy in 1800. Journal de Bruxelles nr 167 mentions sending a professor Mongy to Antwerp in 1800 to start a maritime academy Napoleon's plan was to make

a base of operations against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, together with major changes in the harbor, a renewed training for his officers was part of making ''"

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

and

, a gun pointed at the heart of England."'' In 1834 the academy was refounded under the Belgian regime. Initially the courses were given only in French. The school fell under the Ministry of Transport because " the rules of the road" were a major part of the curriculum. Starting from 1907, each class of first year students in Nautical Sciences is named after a distinguished maritime personality. From 1977 on, this is also done for the Marine Engineering department. In 1919 courses were resumed after suspension during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. During the

Interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

motorized sea-traffic increased and a separate Dutch section was created at the academy. These changes created the need for a bigger school and a new building in the Van de Velde-style was inaugurated in 1932. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the German army occupied the building and courses were given at th
seamens' house
In 1948 lessons were resumed at the school.

References

External links

Hogere Zeevaartschool Antwerpen
{{Coord, 51.2405, 4.3983, type:edu_region:BE, display=title Colleges in Belgium Education in Antwerp Maritime colleges