India must own its trade, add 100 ships to merchant fleet: Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The National Shipping Board (NSB) has proposed a five-point roadmap to add 100 vessels to India’s merchant fleet over the next five years, with the move aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on foreign shipping lines for transporting critical cargo.

The roadmap — comprising fiscal reforms, assured cargo support, access to competitive financing, regulatory streamlining, and improved ease of doing business — was discussed at the inaugural Sagar Samvad event organised by the NSB on Monday (August 24, 2026). The event was themed, ‘Charting the Roadmap Towards Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047’.

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, who chaired the event, welcomed the roadmap and said the measures would help Indian shipowners participate in the country’s expanding maritime economy.

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

The NSB said India currently pays close to $75 billion annually, in freight charges to foreign shipping lines for transporting commodities including crude oil, gas, coal, and urea.

However, panelists at a session on ‘Augmentation of Indian Tonnage — Opportunities and Challenges’ pointed out that operating under the Indian flag remains 16% to 20% costlier than operating under foreign flags. They attributed the cost differential to taxes on ship imports and maintenance services, taxation of seafarers’ wages and freight, and higher domestic financing costs.

Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Shantanu Thakur said India could not depend on foreign shipping lines to secure its trade routes and stressed the need to strengthen domestic tonnage.

The five-point roadmap is aimed at supporting the government’s ambition of making India one of the world’s top five ship-owning nations by 2047 under the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision.

The inaugural Sagar Samvad brought together policymakers, shipowners, financiers, maritime experts, and trainee officers to deliberate on strengthening India’s shipping ecosystem and building a competitive, future-ready maritime sector.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.