The Indian government is intensifying its efforts to revitalise the domestic shipbuilding industry, with senior officials touring prominent shipyards in Japan and Secretary of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways (MoPSW), T.K. Ramachandran, visiting key shipbuilding and recycling facilities in Gujarat. 

A high-level delegation, led by an Additional Secretary in the ministry and including officials from Cochin Shipyard, Shipping Corporation of India, and Gujarat Maritime Board, is currently visiting Japanese shipyards. This follows an earlier trip by Indian officials to shipyards operated by Hanwha Ocean, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Samsung Heavy Industries, aiming to foster technical collaborations and joint ventures. 

In January, a Hanwha Ocean delegation, invited by India, toured facilities including Pipavav Shipyard, Cochin Shipyard, Hindustan Shipyard, and L&T Shipbuilding. The visit culminated in discussions with MoPSW officials, as the ministry awaits cabinet approval for a comprehensive shipbuilding policy. 

Ramachandran visited Alang, home to the world’s largest shipbreaking beaches, and inspected recycling yards operated by Bansal Ship Recycling, Y.S. Investments, and Shree Ram Group. These facilities comply with the Hong Kong Convention for safe ship recycling, which takes effect in June 2025. Ramachandran also interacted with ship recycling workers and reviewed facilities such as the Gujarat Maritime Board Training Institute and a Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility. 

The government’s proposed shipbuilding policy includes a fixed 10-year subsidy scheme, introducing a ship recycling credit note system, and establishing maritime clusters in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Odisha. Under the credit note scheme, shipowners scrapping vessels at Indian yards could receive credits equivalent to 40% of the scrap value, redeemable against new ship construction in India. Subsidies ranging from 20% to 30% would be provided for building standard, specialised, or green vessels, respectively. 

A Maritime Development Fund with an initial corpus of Rs 250 billion is also proposed to support new ventures and expand existing facilities. These measures aim to boost India’s global shipbuilding market share, which currently stands at less than 1%. The government aspires to position India among the top 10 shipbuilding nations by 2030 and the top 5 by 2047. 

(ET)