Maritime sector needs more wind in its sails

India's maritime sector has seldom received the kind of attention it did recently in Mumbai. At the India Maritime Week 2025 (IMW-25), ports, shipbuilding, and reform were firmly at the centre of the national agenda.

- Abhijit Singh

An ambitious $1 trillion-plus investment roadmap was unveiled, signalling opportunities across the blue economy, digital port infrastructure, and green corridors. As with such set-piece spectacles, the events were framed as a celebration of the recent gains in the commercial maritime arena - shorter container dwell times, faster vessel turnaround, record cargo volumes and port surpluses, and India's emergence as the world's third-largest supplier of seafarers. The underlying message was clear - India is open to maritime investment and ready to lead.

The optimism was evident during Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi's address to the Maritime Leaders' Conclave. Citing enhancements in supply-chain security, streamlined documentation, and 100% foreign direct investment in ports and shipping, the PM described how the maritime sector had, in his words, positioned India as a "steady lighthouse in rough global seas". He pointed to two infrastructure milestones - a megawatt-scale green hydrogen facility at Kandla and the expansion of JNPT's Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal, backed by record foreign investment from Singapore - as emblematic of India's maritime aspirations.

The appraisal rests on measurable gains. Container dwell time has fallen below three days, and vessel turnaround now averages under 48 hours - figures comparable to those in advanced maritime economies. Cargo throughput at major ports is at an all-time high, and the number of operational inland waterways has grown to almost thirty. India's human capital in shipping is also expanding rapidly, with Indian seafarers making up almost 12% of the world's seafaring workforce, placing the country among the top three suppliers globally. Together, these advances point to the emergence of a nascent shipping and commercial ecosystem.