India is planning to around 100 ships to its merchant fleet over the next five years as part of efforts to reduce its dependence on foreign shipping lines and retain a larger share of the country’s freight payments within the domestic maritime industry.
The move was discussed at the first ‘Sagar Samvad’ that was organised by the National Shipping Board (NSB), where policymakers and industry representatives highlighted the competitiveness challenges faced by the Indian-flagged vessels.
Addressing the gathering, Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur said India currently pays nearly $75 billion every year in freight to foreign shipping lines for transporting commodities including crude oil, gas, coal and urea.
“That is not a performance problem for Indian shipowners, it is a competitiveness and demand-partnership problem,” Thakur said, according to a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB). The government is seeking to address that dependence by expanding India’s domestic tonnage and making Indian-flagged ships more competitive with foreign-flagged vessels.
Indian flag remains 16-20% more expensive
Industry representatives at the NSB’s inaugural dialogue said ships operating under the Indian flag remains 16-20% more expensive than the ones running under a foreign flag. The cost differential was attributed to several factors, including taxes on ship imports and maintenance services, taxation of seafarers’ wages, taxes on freight and higher domestic financing costs.
The higher operating costs create a disadvantage for Indian shipowners, particularly when they compete with foreign operators for cargo. The NSB panel argued that reducing this cost gap will be critical if India is to significantly expand its merchant fleet.
Five-point roadmap to add 100 ships
The panel proposed a five-pillar roadmap to improve the competitiveness of Indian shipping:
Fiscal reforms
Assured cargo support
Access to competitive financing
Regulatory streamlining
Improved ease of doing business
According to the PIB, the measures could help India add 100 ships to its fleet within five years and support the country’s longer-term ambition of becoming one of the world’s five largest ship-owning nations by 2047. Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal welcomed the roadmap, saying the measures should be viewed as an integrated strategy rather than separate reforms.
“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.
He added that the government is targeting a major expansion in India’s port capacity, with a goal of reaching 10,000 million tonnes of annual capacity by 2047.
Why the merchant fleet matters
India has one of the world’s largest trading economies, but a substantial portion of its international cargo continues to be transported by foreign shipping companies. That means freight payments associated with India’s imports and exports flow overseas rather than accruing to Indian shipowners.
The government’s push to increase domestic tonnage is therefore aimed not only at expanding the shipping industry but also at strengthening India’s maritime and economic security. The dependence becomes particularly important for strategic commodities such as crude oil, natural gas, coal and fertilisers, which account for significant volumes of India’s international cargo movement.
Increasing the number of Indian-owned and Indian-flagged vessels could give domestic companies a greater role in transporting these commodities and reduce exposure to disruptions in international shipping markets.
Shipping fleet expansion linked to Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047
The merchant fleet expansion forms part of India’s broader Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, which seeks to strengthen the country’s position in global shipping and shipbuilding. The government is also attempting to build domestic capacity across the wider maritime ecosystem, including shipbuilding, container manufacturing, port infrastructure and seafarer training.
Sonowal also noted that the government’s Rs 10,000 crore Container Manufacturing Assistance Scheme, under which global shipping major Maersk has placed orders for containers manufactured in India.
The government sees domestic container manufacturing as another step towards reducing dependence on overseas supply chains and creating an integrated maritime manufacturing ecosystem.
Focus also on seafarer jobs and skills
The Sagar Samvad discussions also focused on India’s maritime workforce, with Union Minister for Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya highlighting the potential for the sector to generate employment for the country’s young workforce. India is already among the world’s major suppliers of seafarers, and the government wants to expand training and employment opportunities while developing skills for emerging segments such as cruise shipping and advanced shipbuilding.
Mandaviya said India needs to strengthen industry-led skilling, expand employment pathways, address gender disparities and prepare workers for newer areas of maritime activity.
“A skilled and future-ready maritime workforce will be central to achieving our Maritime India Vision 2030 and building India’s shipbuilding capabilities under Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047,” he said.
National Shipping Board gets renewed role
The first edition of Sagar Samvad also saw Sonowal launch the National Shipping Board’s first official website, while NSB Chairperson Sameer Kumar Khare submitted the board’s annual report for 2025-26 and reports of its subcommittees. The NSB is a statutory advisory body that advises the government on shipping policy, tonnage, seafarer welfare and port-linked maritime development.
The government said the renewed policy framework under the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025 and the new National Shipping Board Rules has strengthened the board’s mandate.