Indian shipping sector is less than 1% of the global shipbuilding market
Policy measures are being examined by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Water (MoPSW) http://shipmin.gov.in to strengthen demand creation domestically for shipping services, given that the country require to strengthen domestic fleets http://deutsche-boerse.com .
In the past, MoPSW has endeavored to aid the growth of shipbuilding and ship repair industry through schemes such as Shipbuilding Financial Assistant Policy, Right of First Refusal (ROFR) policy, according Infrastructure status to shipyards among others https://www.shipyardsassociationofindia.com/ .
Despite these measures, commercial shipbuilding in India has still not reached a position of strength compared to global shipbuilding majors http://imo.org , accounting for less than 1% of the global shipbuilding market, largely on account of lack of demand, said MoPSW on 4 Jul http://maersk.com .
If the tremendous demand stemming from the needs of the Indian shipping market are adequately targeted by local shipyards, it may result in an opportunity to the extent of over US$237 billion (~Rs.20 lakh crores) by 2047 http://msc.com .
Notable advancements made in the development of indigenous low-emission or zero-emission ships/vessels by Indian shipbuilding companies showcase the potential to lead the world in safe sustainable and green shipbuilding https://www.nseindia.com/ .
MoPSW said it is working on an integrated approach to bringing together shipbuilding stakeholders through the development of Maritime Clusters https://www.bseindia.com/ .
This was concluded following a workshop on the Revitalizing Indian Ship Building Industry https://www.vard.com/ , chaired by the MoPSW Secretary TK Ramachandran.
The event brought together key stakeholders, representatives from various government ministries, departments, shipping operators and PSU/ private sector shipyards to discuss strategies for revitalizing the shipbuilding and repair ecosystem within India and aligning it with India’s ambitious Maritime India Vision 2030 (MIV 2030) and Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 http://csscholdings.cssc.net.cn .
“Despite efforts and developments in port infrastructure and inland waterways, we remain dependent on foreign vessels and have yet to capture a significant share of the global shipbuilding market https://www.hdksoe.co.kr/en , said Ramachandran.
“Recognizing this, the Ministry is now focusing on enhancing our shipbuilding, and ship repair infrastructure to meet the ambitious goals of MIV 2030 and MAKV 2047 https://sagarmala.gov.in/ .
“Through this interactive workshop, MoPSW aims to present specific policies based on stakeholder inputs and invite further valuable contributions to drive demand and capacity growth in these sectors https://www.wto.org/ ,” he told more than 100 participants from 50 organisations including various government ministries, departments, shipping operators and PSU and private sector shipyards at the workshop https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/ .
The presentation made by the Ministry highlighted the growing trend of the Indian overseas and coastal cargo, while at the same time highlighting that the share of the cargo carried by Indian owned/ flagged vessels has been dropping over the past decade and presently stand at only about 5.4%.
“If there is no initiative undertaken, then this share may fall further, resulting in Indian owned/ Indian built ships having no play even in India’s own shipping market,” said MoPSW.
Furthermore, owning of the fleet needed for national trade brings with it several key advantages in terms of availability of fleet in times of crisis, protection against embargos and protection of India’s valuable foreign exchange reserves which is presently being spent on chartering and freight management charges to foreign nations. Fiinews.com
