Master's in Maritime Environmental Engineering
This master's prepares you to apply engineering to the environmental challenges of the maritime sector. You will work on environmental oceanography, regulatory compliance, marine water quality and pollutants, ballast water and biofouling, ship and port waste, air emissions and decarbonization, underwater noise, dredging and contaminated sediments, habitat restoration, environmental modeling, remote sensing and data analytics, and the environmental management of ports, offshore facilities and maritime operations.
Prior knowledge check
These are the skills this program gives you. Tick the ones you already master and we will tell you which part of the syllabus is for you.
You are starting from scratch in this subject. The program is designed precisely for that.
What is the Master's in Maritime Environmental Engineering?
This master's treats the marine environment as an engineering problem that combines science, technology and regulation. You will study coastal dynamics, sediment transport and marine ecosystems; the law of the sea, MARPOL, IMO conventions, EU directives, environmental impact assessment, permitting and environmental liability; sampling campaigns, eutrophication, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, emerging contaminants and microplastics; ballast water treatment systems, antifouling coatings and invasive species; port reception facilities and the circular economy; emissions inventories, emission control areas, MRV, EEXI and CII, shore power and alternative fuels; underwater acoustics and noise mitigation; dredging, sediment management and nature-based solutions; and hydrodynamic, water quality and dispersion models, satellite remote sensing, GIS and environmental digital twins.
What sets this master's apart: it covers the technical side of each environmental pressure, from sizing a ballast water treatment system or modeling a dredging plume to planning a decarbonization roadmap with CAPEX and OPEX, and links it to the permits, audits and evidence that projects and operations require; it gives specific modules to underwater noise and to dredging and contaminated sediments, two areas rarely covered in depth; and it closes with a Final Project in which you address a real environmental engineering problem in a port, offshore or maritime setting.
Program highlights
- Environmental oceanography and coastal dynamics as the basis for dispersion, mixing and integrated coastal management.
- Regulatory compliance: MARPOL, IMO conventions, EU marine directives, EIA, permitting and environmental liability.
- Ballast water treatment systems, biofouling, antifouling coatings and invasive species response plans.
- Air emissions, MRV, EEXI and CII, shore power and alternative fuels for a net-zero transition plan.
- Underwater noise, dredging, contaminated sediments and habitat restoration with nature-based solutions.
- Environmental modeling, remote sensing, GIS and digital twins, plus environmental management of ports and offshore sites.
Syllabus of the Master's in Maritime Environmental Engineering
11 modules. Select a module to see its content.
Foundations of environmental oceanography and marine systems
- 1.1. Coastal ocean dynamics: currents, tides and littoral circulation
- 1.2. Physical oceanography applied to dispersion and mixing
- 1.3. Chemical oceanography: biogeochemical cycles and marine buffers
- 1.4. Biological oceanography: productivity, food webs and resilience
- 1.5. Marine sedimentology: transport, deposition and resuspension
- 1.6. Ocean-atmosphere interaction: forcing and variability
- 1.7. Ecosystem types: estuaries, seagrass meadows, reefs and the pelagic zone
- 1.8. Marine environmental indicators: metrics, thresholds and trends
- 1.9. Coastal environmental risks: erosion, saltwater intrusion and extreme events
- 1.10. Foundations of integrated coastal management: land-sea interface and governance
Regulatory framework, governance and maritime environmental compliance
- 2.1. The law of the sea and administrative competences in the marine environment
- 2.2. MARPOL and its annexes: control of pollution from ships
- 2.3. IMO conventions: ballast water, antifouling systems, garbage and emissions
- 2.4. European directives: the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Water Framework Directive and maritime spatial planning
- 2.5. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) of maritime projects
- 2.6. Permitting and licensing: ports, dredging, offshore projects and coasts
- 2.7. Compliance systems: due diligence, audits and evidence
- 2.8. Environmental liability: damage, restoration and offsets
- 2.9. Contracts and environmental clauses in logistics and operations
- 2.10. Inspection, penalties and technical defense: case files and environmental expert reports
Marine water quality and pollutant management
- 3.1. Physicochemical and microbiological parameters: designing sampling campaigns
- 3.2. Sampling and preservation: traceability, QA/QC and bias control
- 3.3. Organic pollution and eutrophication: nutrients and dissolved oxygen
- 3.4. Hydrocarbons and PAHs: sources, fingerprinting and degradation
- 3.5. Heavy metals: speciation, mobility and bioavailability
- 3.6. Emerging contaminants: pharmaceuticals, PFAS and endocrine disruptors
- 3.7. Microplastics and nanoplastics: quantification and risks
- 3.8. Dilution and assimilation models: carrying capacity
- 3.9. Continuous monitoring systems: probes, telemetry and alerts
- 3.10. Improvement plans: corrective measures, follow-up and verification
Ballast water engineering, biofouling and invasive species
- 4.1. Biological risk associated with maritime transport
- 4.2. Ballast water management and regulation: the BWM Convention and verification
- 4.3. Treatment technologies: filtration, UV, oxidation and electrochlorination
- 4.4. Sizing and integration on board: power, safety and layout
- 4.5. Operation, maintenance and reliability of ballast water treatment systems (BWTS)
- 4.6. Biofouling: mechanisms, impacts and performance metrics
- 4.7. Antifouling coatings: chemistry, compatibility and effectiveness
- 4.8. Inspection and cleaning strategies: in-water cleaning and waste
- 4.9. Ecological assessment of invasions: pathways, vectors and vulnerability
- 4.10. Response plans: containment, eradication and operational mitigation
Marine waste management, circular economy and zero-discharge ports
- 5.1. Marine litter: sources, types and accumulation pathways
- 5.2. Port waste reception: design, sizing and KPIs
- 5.3. Ship waste management: segregation, traceability and reporting
- 5.4. Hazardous waste: oils, paints, sludge and compatibilities
- 5.5. Source reduction strategies: eco-design and substitution
- 5.6. Recovery and circularity: recycling, co-processing and resource recovery
- 5.7. Reverse logistics in ports and marinas: flows and optimization
- 5.8. Certification systems: ISO, EMAS and green port schemes
- 5.9. Control of solid discharges: inspection, penalties and prevention
- 5.10. Cleanup and citizen science programs: metrics and communication
Maritime air emissions, energy and decarbonization
- 6.1. Emissions inventories: CO2, NOx, SOx, PM and black carbon
- 6.2. SECAs/ECAs and their requirements: fuels, scrubbers and control
- 6.3. Measurement and MRV: methods, emission factors and assurance
- 6.4. Ship energy efficiency: EEDI/EEXI and operational CII
- 6.5. Route and speed optimization: weather routing and fuel consumption
- 6.6. Port electrification: OPS/cold ironing and demand management
- 6.7. Alternative fuels: LNG, methanol, ammonia, hydrogen and biofuels
- 6.8. LCA and carbon footprint: scopes, boundaries and comparability
- 6.9. Corporate net-zero strategies: targets, levers and governance
- 6.10. Transition plan: CAPEX/OPEX, risks and implementation schedule
Underwater noise and vibration engineering and impacts on wildlife
- 7.1. Underwater acoustics: propagation, attenuation and SEL/SPL metrics
- 7.2. Industrial sources: shipping, dredging, pile driving and seismic surveys
- 7.3. Acoustic monitoring: PAM, networks, calibration and validation
- 7.4. Effects on marine life: behavior, stress and habitat avoidance
- 7.5. Impact modeling: scenarios, uncertainty and sensitivity
- 7.6. Mitigation measures: bubble curtains, soft starts and timing windows
- 7.7. Project design: temporal and spatial planning of activities
- 7.8. Thresholds and guidelines: technical criteria for permits and conditions
- 7.9. Complaint and reputation management: communication and technical evidence
- 7.10. Monitoring plans: compliance, audits and adaptive improvement
Dredging, contaminated sediments and habitat restoration
- 8.1. Types of dredging: mechanical, hydraulic and environmental
- 8.2. Sediment characterization: grain size, chemistry and ecotoxicity
- 8.3. Management of contaminated sediments: confinement and treatment
- 8.4. Plume modeling: turbidity, deposition and recontamination
- 8.5. Selection of disposal sites: criteria and risks
- 8.6. Remediation technologies: capping, washing, solidification and bioremediation
- 8.7. Habitat restoration: seagrass meadows, salt marshes and soft bottoms
- 8.8. Engineering nature-based solutions (NbS) on the coast
- 8.9. Adaptive planning: monitoring, triggers and corrective actions
- 8.10. Post-construction evaluation: ecological indicators and environmental performance
Environmental modeling, remote sensing and marine data analytics
- 9.1. Foundations of numerical modeling: meshes, boundary conditions and stability
- 9.2. Coastal hydrodynamic models: calibration and validation
- 9.3. Water quality models: nutrients, phytoplankton and oxygen
- 9.4. Dispersion models: spills, effluents and particles
- 9.5. Satellite remote sensing: chlorophyll, turbidity, SST and anomalies
- 9.6. Marine GIS: layers, spatial analysis and planning
- 9.7. Time series management: detection of trends and events
- 9.8. Applied statistics and uncertainty: sensitivity and propagation
- 9.9. Dashboards and reporting: KPIs, alerts and decision-making
- 9.10. Environmental digital twins: architecture, integration and data governance
Environmental management of ports, offshore facilities and maritime operations
- 10.1. Port environmental management systems: scope, processes and audits
- 10.2. Assessment of operational environmental risks: matrices and controls
- 10.3. Spill management: prevention, response and recovery
- 10.4. Environmental emergency plans: roles, chain of command and drills
- 10.5. Effluent control: gray and black water, industrial and stormwater
- 10.6. Green port infrastructure: sustainable drainage and biodiversity
- 10.7. Offshore wind, oil and gas and aquaculture: specific impacts and mitigation
- 10.8. Contractors and the supply chain: requirements, inspection and KPIs
- 10.9. Relations with communities and stakeholders: social license and transparency
- 10.10. Environmental economics and funding: CAPEX/OPEX, grants and business case
Final Project
- 11.1. Choosing the topic and defining the problem to be addressed
- 11.2. Setting objectives, hypotheses and scope of the work
- 11.3. Review of the state of the art and the specialized literature
- 11.4. Analysis of the applicable regulatory and technical framework
- 11.5. Design of the methodology and work plan
- 11.6. Collection, processing and validation of data
- 11.7. Technical development and analysis of results
- 11.8. Discussion, conclusions and future lines of work
- 11.9. Writing the final report according to academic standards
- 11.10. Presentation and defense of the project before an evaluation panel
Duration and format of the Master's in Maritime Environmental Engineering
It is 1,500 hours. Tell us how many you can study each week and we will tell you when you will really finish.
This is the pace at which most students finish. It fits well with the installment plan.
Academic leadership and faculty
The Navalis teaching team: working professionals who teach and supervise the programs.
Dr. Marina AlcoverAcademic Director and Head of Quality Assurance
Eng. Diego CifuentesSenior Lecturer in Naval Welding and Non-Destructive Testing; Head of QA/QC for Welded Joints
Capt. Javier Abaroa (MCA)Senior Lecturer in Ship Handling, Electronic Navigation (ECDIS/Radar/ARPA) and GMDSS; STCW Compliance and Bridge Resource Management Coordinator
Dr. Pau FerrerSenior Lecturer in Naval Architecture and Simulation; Director of the Hydrodynamics and CFD Laboratory
Dr. Nuria LlobregatSenior Lecturer in Marine Meteorology, SAR and Operational Safety; Navigation Risk Management Coordinator
Eng. Javier BañulsSenior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Automation and ETO Engineering; Electronic Integration and Engine Alarms Coordinator
Eng. Sofía MarquinaSenior Lecturer in Materials, Composites and Corrosion Protection; Coordinator of the Advanced Paints and Coatings Line
Eng. Tomás RieraSenior Lecturer in Propulsion, Alternative Energy and Hybrid Systems; Energy Performance and Vibration CoordinatorObjectives of the Master's in Maritime Environmental Engineering
Career opportunities after the Master's in Maritime Environmental Engineering
Questions about the Master's in Maritime Environmental Engineering
The marine and coastal environment, with particular attention to the pressures generated by ships, ports, dredging, offshore facilities and other maritime operations.
On applying engineering to solve marine environmental problems. It builds on oceanography and environmental science, but the emphasis is on technical solutions, modeling, compliance and project design.
Yes. One module covers emissions inventories, emission control areas, MRV, EEXI and CII, route optimization, shore power, alternative fuels, life cycle assessment and net-zero transition planning.
Engineers, marine biologists and chemists, environmental managers and consultants, shipping and port professionals, researchers and environmental science graduates who want a technical specialization in the maritime sector.
Online, with flexible access to the materials and real case studies, designed for working professionals.
Through case studies, models, technical reports and assignments throughout the modules and a Final Project addressing a real maritime environmental engineering problem.
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Admission process
No waiting for a call back. If your documents are in order, you can enroll in the same session.
- Profile: a degree in environmental sciences, engineering (civil, chemical, industrial or similar), marine biology or a related field, or professional experience in the marine environmental sector.
- Language: sufficient command of English to follow the classes and the technical documentation.
- Technical resources: a computer with camera and microphone, a high-speed internet connection and software for viewing documents and joining videoconferences.
- Admission: online application, review of your profile and a short interview with the academic team.
- 01ApplicationYour details, background and documents.
- 02Instant reviewWe check that everything is complete and in order.
- 03EnrollmentChoose full payment or instalments and reserve your place.
Admission is provisional until the committee validates the documents provided. If you do not meet the requirements, the full amount is refunded.
Ask us before you enroll
Leave your details and admissions will write to you to answer any questions. If you are already sure, you can apply and pay in the same session.