The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways established the Maritime India Foundation (MIF) to promote research, innovation, and startup development in the maritime sector, focusing on ports, shipbuilding, and marine transport. Shri S. Viswanathan serves as the Managing Director of MIF. Four premier institutions — Indian Maritime University, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur — were designated as Maritime Innovation Hubs (MIHs). As an MIH, IMU plays a vital role in advancing maritime research, innovation, startups, and entrepreneurship to address real-time challenges in the Indian maritime sector. To support this initiative, IMU established the IMU Start-up Entrepreneurship and Accelerator Setup (I-SEAS) under the Sagarmala Start-up Initiatives (S2I2). A dedicated 6,000 sq. ft. incubation centre has been set up at IMU Headquarters, Chennai, equipped with co-working spaces, meeting rooms, design and fabrication labs, prototyping facilities, and high-speed internet connectivity. An MoU between MIF and IMU was signed on 5 May 2025 at Chennai Port Authority by Shri S. Viswanathan and Dr. Malini V Shankar, Vice Chancellor of IMU, for the effective implementation of the S2I2 programme. The event was attended by IMU officials and the Associate Dean of I-SEAS. MIF also organized “MAR-a-THON: India’s Maritime Hackathon 2025” at Indian Institute of Technology Madras on 16–17 October 2025 to address problem statements identified by major Indian ports. Five selected startups were assigned to IMU-ISEAS for mentorship and incubation. IMU will guide these startups in developing innovative maritime solutions, supported by a seed fund grant of ₹1.3 crore allocated to IMU-ISEAS for milestone-based disbursement until successful project completion.