Government-owned Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), one of the largest ship manufacturers in the country, has many projects on hand and eyes a major boost from measures announced in the Union Budget for 2025-26. CSL’s chairman and managing director Madhu S Nair is pinning hopes on the budgetary allocation of ₹25,000 crore to the Maritime Development Fund (MDF) and the revamped Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy (SBFAP 2.0) to facilitate India’s emergence as a top-five global maritime hub in the long run. He says that the financial support, together with technical collaboration with overseas shipbuilding majors, will enable CLS to make rapid progress in the construction of large merchant ships. The shipbuilding industry is currently dominated by Korean, Chinese and Japanese players. “I think global shipping majors will look at India, and at CSL, for meeting their requirements,” Nair says. The big league In the past 20 years, CSL has largely looked at western European markets and technical partners, helping it build today’s technology-oriented vessels. Favourable market conditions had pushed it to build functional vessels, offshore vessels and dredgers. With the construction of a 31-m dry dock, at an investment of ₹1,800 crore, CSL is ready to take up orders for building large-capacity merchant vessels for the international market, he says. “We are seeking technical collaborations with global shipbuilding majors for joint ventures in shipbuilding and ship repair in India,” he says. “Talks are on with shipbuilding majors for brownfield expansion, and the yard is looking for a suitable location in Kochi to set up a large fabrication facility to speed up the turnaround time for shipbuilding at the new dry dock,” he says. Quality and pricing The need of the hour is to construct ships of the highest global quality at global pricing levels, he says, adding that the combination of quality, time and pricing is crucial when entering the global shipbuilding arena. There is a need to team up to build more ships, as in the case of automobiles, he explains. “I will call it a prized technology and process, something which money cannot buy, but which happens through experience and can be shared only through a robust and long-term collaboration. Nobody is willing to put in that kind of time, effort and resources towards such cooperation unless it is long-term,” Nair observes. CSL, he says, was part of a delegation that visited Korea and Japan recently to seek opportunities to build more ships for Indian and overseas markets on a globally competitive footing. India’s growth story augurs well for a growing requirement of ships for cargo transportation. However, most of the country’s cargo is currently handled by foreign ships. Nair points out that India paid roughly $85 billion as freight charges last year, with $75 billion going to foreign shipping firms at a time when India is a $3.5-trillion economy. The country’s targeted growth to a $30-trillion economy will demand more ships for cargo movement. Building for India “We can create the right ambience to ensure those ships are largely controlled by India... an Indian-controlled or Indian-owned or even a multinational shipping company sitting in India is always the best option,” he stresses. The country’s rising demand for shipping has necessitated inviting global shipbuilding majors to set up yards on its soil and build both for India and the world. “Sensing the emerging opportunities, we are following up with actions. The budget supports these actions,” he adds. The yard is also contemplating expanding its integrated ship repair facility at Willingdon Island through a partnership with a reputed overseas firm, to bring in global best practices at an investment of nearly ₹1,500 crore. CSL is also investing around ₹35 crore to develop an autonomous surface vessel (ASV) for both defence and civilian use. It has secured partial funding from the government for the R&D project. More Like This Published on April 20, 2025