India eyes 100 new merchant vessels to cut $75b freight bill

Foreign shipping lines receive $75b annually to move crude oil, gas, coal, and urea.

India could add 100 vessels to its merchant fleet over the next five years as it seeks to reduce its reliance on foreign shipping lines and a $75b annual freight bill, according to Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal.

Speaking at the National Shipping Board’s (NSB) first “Sagar Samvad” in New Delhi on 25 August, Sonowal backed a five-point roadmap proposed by the board to expand India’s shipping capacity.

The measures cover fiscal reform, assured cargo support, competitive financing, regulatory streamlining, and ease of doing business.

“Taken together, these are not five separate tasks; they are the architecture of a nation choosing, at last, to own its own trade,” Sonowal said.

The freight bill covers cargo including crude oil, gas, coal, and urea, according to Shantanu Thakur, Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

“That is not a performance problem for Indian shipowners, it is a competitiveness and demand-partnership problem,” Thakur said.

The board’s panel on Indian tonnage said operating under the Indian flag remains 16% to 20% more expensive than operating under a foreign flag.

It attributed the gap to taxes on ship imports and maintenance services, tax deducted from seafarers’ wages, tax on freight, and higher domestic capital costs.

The panel said the measures would support India’s target of becoming one of the world’s five largest ship-owning nations by 2047.

The NSB is a statutory advisory body under the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025. It advises the government on shipping policy, tonnage, seafarer welfare, and port-linked maritime development.

The first Sagar Samvad brought together government officials, shipowners, financiers, maritime industry representatives, and cadets for discussions on India’s maritime development.

A separate session on the maritime labour force focused on employment, training, gender disparity, and skills for emerging segments including cruise shipping and advanced shipbuilding.

Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, said India should expand training capacity and develop skills to meet demand for maritime professionals.

“We are expanding quality training capacity, with steps taken to strengthen industry-led skilling, create wider employment pathways, address gender disparity and equip our workforce with skills for emerging segments such as cruise shipping and advanced shipbuilding,” Mandaviya said.

Sonowal also cited the INR10,000 crore Container Manufacturing Assistance Scheme, saying Maersk has ordered containers manufactured in India.