Seatrade-Maritime: Coastal shipping can help boost the future of maritime trade in India

Published by Seatrade-Maritime

By Ganesh Raj, Global Chief Operating Officer, Marine Services, DP World

India’s coastal shipping sector stands at an important inflection point. As the country works to strengthen its maritime economy, improve supply chain resilience and support sustainable growth, coastal shipping offers a practical and proven way to move cargo more efficiently between Indian ports.

For DP World, this is not a new conversation. It is a space where we have already invested, operated and learned alongside our customers and partners. Our Marine Services business has long supported maritime trade through integrated shipping, port and supply chain capabilities. In India, that commitment is reflected in our Shipping Solutions coastal network, which currently spans 14 ports and is supported by a fleet of 10 vessels. In 2025 alone, we handled approximately half a million teu through our coastal shipping operations. The acquisition of DP World Indus, a 2,500+ teu container vessel dedicated to domestic coastal trade, is the latest step in that journey.

This investment is important not simply because it adds capacity, but because it strengthens a mode of transport that can deliver real value for India. Coastal shipping can reduce pressure on road networks, improve connectivity between manufacturing, industrial and consumption centres, and offer customers a dependable alternative for moving cargo along the country’s coastline. All this with an important aspect of reducing pollution by road vehicles and improving the sustainability of our domestic logistics. In a market as large and diverse as India, that matters. Efficient coastal connectivity is not a niche capability. It is part of the infrastructure of national competitiveness.

The regulatory environment

At the same time, India’s cabotage regime and broader ship registry framework shape how the market develops. The current regulatory environment gives Indian-flagged vessels a clear role in domestic coastal trade, while foreign-flagged vessels generally require permission to participate. That framework has a clear policy logic. It supports Indian tonnage, retains value within the domestic maritime economy and encourages the growth of local capability. It also creates a strong strategic rationale for investment in India-flagged assets.

But policy must also evolve with market realities.

A roadmap for a more competitive registry

India’s trade ambitions, port development plans and sustainability goals all point to the need for a more competitive, credible and modern ship registry. That is why DP World produced ‘Enhancing India’s Ship Registry: Pathways to Global Competitiveness’, which sets out four clear priorities and solutions on:

Regulatory and governance modernisation

Fiscal and commercial attractiveness

International presence and service culture

Green and sustainable transition

The report is not a theoretical exercise It is a practical roadmap designed to help India strengthen its registry, improve its service proposition to shipowners and accelerate the country’s wider maritime ambitions.

Jobs, growth and national opportunity

These recommendations are not abstract. They are intended to support Maritime India Vision 2030 and India’s ambition to position itself as a global maritime leader. They also speak to a broader truth: maritime reform can create jobs, not just save costs. When India expands its coastal shipping capacity, strengthens its ship registry and grows its domestic fleet, it supports demand across the ecosystem — from seafarers and technical crews to logistics professionals, engineers, port workers and service providers. A stronger maritime sector means more skilled employment, more local capability and more economic activity around India’s ports and corridors.

Charting the course ahead

That is why the conversation around coastal shipping should not be limited to regulation alone. It should also be about industrial policy, trade competitiveness and national opportunity. The country has the scale, the talent and the ambition to build one of the world’s most credible and sustainable maritime systems. What is needed now is alignment: between policy and execution, between investment and reform, and between domestic capability and global ambition.

At DP World, we believe coastal shipping has a central role to play in that future. Through our Marine Services business, we will continue to invest in the vessels, networks and partnerships that help trade flow more reliably and sustainably across India. The acquisition of DP World Indus is one example of that commitment. The next chapter certainly hinges on continued collaboration between government, industry and customers to unlock the full potential of India’s coastline. If we get this right, coastal shipping can do more than move cargo. It can help build a stronger maritime economy, create jobs, reduce emissions, and connect India more effectively to itself and to the world.