Maersk and Cochin Shipyard set sights on powering India’s maritime growth

February 18, 2025, by Sara Kosmajac

Danish shipping heavyweight A.P. Moller-Maersk and India’s largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore collaboration opportunities in ship repair, maintenance, and building activities in the South Asian nation.

Cochin Shipyard Limited. Image courtesy of Maersk

As informed, this partnership is expected to positively contribute to India’s maritime industry growth and support the government’s vision of developing ‘high-level’ ship repair and construction capabilities.

Per the MoU, the two partners are expected to work together across several ‘key’ areas: joint training programs centered on ecologically responsible practices, technical expertise sharing to establish global standards in ship maintenance, looking into ship repair, dry docking, and new construction opportunities, as well as skill development initiatives for CSL employees and Maersk seafarers.

According to the Danish player, at the outset, the collaboration is set to focus on vessels of up to 7,000 TEUs for afloat repairs and on ships of up to 4,000 TEUs for dry-docking, with capabilities anticipated to broaden over time.

“As we witness unprecedented growth in global maritime trade, our collaboration with CSL represents our commitment to strengthening India’s maritime infrastructure. The first Maersk vessel repair at CSL, planned already for 2025, will mark the beginning of what we envisage as a long-term collaborative relationship,” Leonardo Sonzio, Head of Fleet Management & Technology, A.P. Moller-Maersk, highlighted.

As per Maersk, working together with CSL aligns with the Indian government’s recent announcements in the 2025-26 Union Budget concerning the creation of shipbuilding and repair clusters—the goal of which would be to increase the range, categories and capacity of ships built domestically—and the establishment of a dedicated maritime development fund (MDF) to clinch long-term, low-cost financing for the sector.

Namely, in early February 2025, the government revealed that it would set up an INR 250 billion (approximately $2.9 billion) MDF to grow the national fleet and bolster domestic shipbuilding and repair.

This effort is said to have been rolled out in support of the Maritime India Vision 2030, which outlines ambitious goals to position India among the top 10 shipbuilding nations by 2030.

The government shared it would contribute 49% of this fund, with the remainder sourced from ports and the private sector.

While the MDF is primarily dedicated to acquiring new vessels, with the target being to increase the share of Indian-flagged units to 20% by 2027, the fund would also be used to provide financial aid for green shipping initiatives, invest in ship repair facilities to make India a global shipping hub, develop new and modernize existing ports, and to encourage technological innovation in maritime logistics and fleet efficiency.

India aims to spend up to $3B to boost domestic maritime sector

Authorities & Government

Between 2023 and 2025, India’s shipbuilding sector has experienced considerable growth, having reportedly expanded from $90 million in 2022 to $1.12 billion in 2024, with projections aiming for $8 billion by 2033. This translates to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60%.

The country’s ship repair sector has been on a similar trajectory. According to India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways data published in the spring of 2024, this sector has expanded ‘significantly’ thanks to infrastructure developments and state-funded initiatives.

Specifically, the ministry revealed that in the public sector during the 2022-23 period, CSL had the highest repair capacity at 125,000 dwt, followed by Hindustan Shipyards with 80,000 dwt and Goa Shipyard with 4,500 dwt.

During that same timeframe, a total of 439 vessels are said to have been repaired, among which 259 were repaired by private sector firms and 180 ships by state-owned enterprises—an increase from the 319 units in 2021-22, the ministry unveiled.

Challenges nonetheless remain. While it possesses potential, India’s ship repair market is understood to face competition from international yards along major trade routes, mostly due to high financing costs, lack of readily available ship spare parts and gaps in technological capabilities that have reportedly led to increased repair cycle times.

Nevertheless, if the Maritime India 2030 vision is implemented successfully, the government estimates that the sector can be not just rejuvenated but poised for ‘stronger’ growth as the maritime industry sails closer to its decarbonization ambitions.