Bangladesh Maritime University

Rear Admiral Musa joined Bangladesh Naval Academy on 27 January 1985. After one year of training in Bangladesh Military and Naval Academy, he was sent to Royal Malaysian Navy to undergo Officer’s Basic Training as the first Officer to be trained in the Malaysian Navy. On 01 July 1987, he was commissioned in the Executive Branch. He earned the confidence and high acceptability among the ranks and files of the Navy for his high level of professionalism, integrity, vision, decision making and leadership qualities.

The officer had an excellent blend of around 40 years of professional and Academic career. He was a Naval Gunnery Specialist Officer and served as an Instructor at Bangladesh Naval Academy, Chief Instructor of the Naval Gunnery and Seamanship School. He commanded six warships ranging from Patrol Craft to Frigates and lastly the flagship, BNS Khalid Bin Walid (Guided Misile Frigate).

The Admiral served as the Chairman, Mongla Port Authority. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the Port handled a record number of ship sand cargo thereby making a new record earning revenue (Tk. 340 crores); which was the ever highest in the 70 years of history of Mongla Port. During his tenure, the Admiral worked relentlessly to develop the port and transform it into an international standard port to serve as South-western gateway as well as a hub for regional connectivity.

The Admiral has served as the Director of four Directorates at Naval Headquarters namely Directorate of Plans, Submarine, Naval Aviation and Signals. He also served as Naval Secretary. He commanded the biggest naval establishment of the Bangladesh Navy, BNS ISSA KHAN in Chattogram. As Area Commander, he performed the duties of Naval Administrative Authority Dhaka and Commander Khulna Naval Area.

The Admiral has served as the Vice-Chancellor of Bangladesh Maritime University. He assumed his duties for this specialized university on January 31, 2023, as the third Vice-Chancellor and concluded on 9 September 2024. During his tenure he took initiative to promote co-operation with various reputed international maritime organizations for joint research, academic exchange in maritime co-operation programme. He has also established 1st Maritime Business Incubator (Startup Blue) to generate innovative business idea and promote entrepreneurship for maritime sector.

Outside the Navy, the Admiral served as the Director of the Blue Economy Cell of Govt and also served as Directing Staff (Navy) Armed Forces War Course at National Defence College from 2010 to 2013.

Rear Admiral Musa is an alumni of Defence Services Command and Staff College, Mirpur, French Inter Forces War College, National Defence College, Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS), UK and king’s College, London.

In his Academic credentials, he achieved four Master’s degrees in War Studies, English Literature, International Relations and Business Administration respectively. It is to be mentioned that he completed MA in "International Security and Strategy" from Kings College, London. He completed M Phil from Bangladesh University of Professionals in 2015. On January 2021 the Admiral achieved the milestone of completing PhD “Maritime Domain Awareness: Bangladesh Perspective” from Jahangirnagar University despite his highly busy schedule and commitments. The Admiral was also a fellow of the Capstone Course (2023/1) of the prestigious National Defence College, Mirpur, Dhaka.

The Admiral had a passion for research works on core maritime issues, particularly Maritime Law, Ocean Policy, Sustainable Blue Economy, Coastal Zone Management and regional maritime partnership issues. He had a number of research publications in reputed journals to his credit. Admiral attended various national and international seminars and symposiums; he represented Bangladesh in the State Party meeting at the United Nations in 2013. He attended Senior Executive Decision-Making Programme at Institute for Security Governance in California in 2019. He also attended the 12th Regional Sea Power Symposium in Italy and delivered a lecture on ‘Shaping of Navies in the Blue century’. His interviews were published in six international defence & Security Journals. His numerous professional articles were published in various Defence and Security Journals at home and abroad. The Admiral was a distinguished guest speaker/ Lecturer at various public/ private Universities, National Defence College, Defence Services Command and Staff College and in many forums organized both at home and abroad on Blue Economy, International Security and Strategy, Maritime governance and Policy issues. On the global stage, he delivered lectures on contemporary issues related to Maritime Co-operation and Blue Economy at different reputed maritime institutions like National Maritime Foundation New Delhi, Gujarat National Law University, National Institute of Oceanography India, Maldives National University and the National Ocean Technology Centre in China. The Admiral attended a seminar on “Navigating the Seafarer Crisis: Bangladesh's Prospect in Marine Education and Training” organized by Bangladeshi Marine Community Singapore (BMCS) as a key speaker. In International Marine and Offshore Expo (BIMOX) 2023 in Bangladesh he addressed the inaugural session as a Special Guest. He joined in the seminar arranged by Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (BORI) as a Speaker. A seminar commemorating the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the enactment of the TERRITORIAL WATERS AND MARITIME ZONES ACT, 1974, was organized- among the panelists; the Admiral delivered a speech, reflecting on the significance of the occasion. Previously, he delivered a lead talk at 3rd World Ocean Science Congress (WOSC 2024) in Chennai, India. With each engagement, he wove a narrative of cooperation and progress, illuminating the path toward sustainable maritime development.

The Admiral had a number of extraordinary achievements in his distinguished naval service career. As the Captain of the flagship (Guided Misile Frigate) of Bangladesh, he received ‘National Standard’ from the Hon’ble Prime Minister for outstanding contribution both at naval and national levels. While performing the duties of Commander Khulna Naval Area (Eastern Naval Command) received the prestigious ‘National Standard Award’ from Hon’ble President. The Admiral also received peace time award 'Oshamanno Seba Padak', ‘Nou Parodorshita Padak’ and the newly introduced ‘National Integrity Award’ as recognition of his outstanding performance. It is to mention that as recognition of his extraordinary service to the navy, The Admiral received the Chief of Naval Staff’s commendation award three times during his glorious career.

Admiral Musa was married to Mrs. Nishat Rahman and was a proud father of two sons. He enjoyed studying and contributing to maritime strategy and security issues.

Rear Admiral Mohammad Musa, OSP, NPP, rcds, afwc, psc, PhD

Former Vice-Chancellor
Bangladesh Maritime University