The India Maritime Week, led by the Prime Minister, signals a policy shift — viewing shipping not just as a commercial sector, but as strategic infrastructure vital for national security and economic resilience.

Decline of Indian Shipping (Pre-COVID Era)

• Impact of Liberalisation–Privatisation–Globalisation Approach: For nearly two decades, the LPG framework weakened state support, resulting in erosion of India’s shipping capacity.
• Shift from National Fleet Development to Seafarer Export: The government focused primarily on training seafarers for foreign ships, rather than enhancing India’s own merchant fleet.
• Decline of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI): The once-dominant SCI declined due to policy neglect — loss of preferential rights for transporting India’s oil and moves toward privatisation reflected the absence of a strategic vision for national shipping assets.

COVID-19 as a Strategic Wake-up Call

• Dependency on Foreign Ships: The pandemic exposed India’s vulnerability because it depended heavily on foreign-owned vessels for critical trade movement.
• Inadequate Shipping Capacity: Private Indian shipping proved insufficient to secure trade routes during global disruptions.
• Shipping as National Asset:  The crisis shifted government perception, recognising shipping as strategic during wars, supply chain disruptions, and rising global protectionism.

Measures Taken By the Government For Revival of the Industry

• Fleet Expansion: The government has initiated efforts to expand the Shipping Corporation of India’s fleet strength.
• Investment Surge: Lakhs of crores worth of investments have been announced, primarily focused on ports, port connectivity, and maritime infrastructure.
• Landlord Model: Ports continue to operate under the landlord port model where the government owns port assets, while private/foreign entities manage terminals and share revenue.
• Trans-shipment Hubs:  Ports such as Chennai and Kolkata are supporting the development of a major trans-shipment hub project in the Andaman Islands.
• Allied Support: Sagarmala connectivity projects and enhanced seafarer training are being promoted alongside port development.
• Flag Incentives: Foreign shipping firms are being encouraged to register their ships under the Indian flag through subsidiaries, boosting India’s leverage and maritime insurance ecosystem.

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Challenges in Shipping Industry

• Lack of Progress: Despite port investments, progress in merchant shipbuilding remains limited and insufficient.
• Lack of Indigenous Capability:  India needs the capability to build LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) vessels and fuel-efficient green ships to demonstrate true industrial and technological competence.

Conclusion

True maritime power will emerge only when Indian shipyards can rapidly build state-of-the-art vessels and expand the Indian-flagged merchant fleet.

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