FICCI–EY calls for shipbuilding and ship repair to expand together, with policy support linked to orders, delivery performance and domestic value addition
November 04, 2026
Mumbai, 04 November 2026: India accounted for just 0.075 per cent of global merchant-ship deliveries in 2025, underscoring the scale of the challenge facing the country's ambition to emerge as a leading shipbuilding nation, according to a FICCI–EY report released at FICCI's Maritime India Conference & Expo in Mumbai.
Indian shipyards delivered vessels totalling 57,637 gross tonnes (GT) during the year, against 77.28 million GT globally. China, South Korea and Japan together accounted for 94.2 per cent of world deliveries, while Vietnam alone produced more than 15 times India's output.
The report, Optimising India's shipbuilding and ship repair capacity: Roadmap for industrial scale-up, says the ₹69,725-crore maritime package approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2025 has established a policy and financing framework for expansion. The immediate challenge is to translate this support into firm orders, productive shipyards, qualified domestic suppliers and competitive delivery performance.
It recommends developing shipbuilding and ship repair simultaneously through integrated industrial clusters, with financial support increasingly linked to contracted orders, capacity utilisation, delivery performance and realised domestic content.
India's share of global shipbuilding output has remained below 0.12 per cent every year since 2020. Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 targets a top-10 global position by 2030 and a top-five position by 2047. Based on 2025 deliveries, India would need to increase output approximately elevenfold merely to match the fifth-ranked shipbuilding economy's current level.
Potential demand is substantial, but converting it into firm orders remains a challenge. As of December 2025, 1,071 vessels in the Indian fleet were 16 years old or more, pointing to a significant fleet-renewal opportunity alongside coastal shipping, port services and inland waterways, where cargo movement reached a record 145.5 million tonnes in FY2024–25.
Ship repair presents a near-term opportunity. Between 7 and 9 per cent of global maritime traffic passes within 300 nautical miles of India's coastline, yet the country accounted for less than 1 per cent of the global ship-repair market in 2024. India repaired 418 vessels in FY2023–24 across some 42 dry docks, with infrastructure, turnaround times, spares and customs procedures limiting growth. A ₹1,570-crore repair facility approved at Vadinar in May 2026 is expected to handle about 34 large vessels a year. In ship recycling, India also accounted for 35.4 per cent of global ship-recycling tonnage in 2025.
The cluster programme is the principal instrument for new capacity. The Shipbuilding Development Scheme provides ₹9,930 crore for common infrastructure, and five greenfield clusters, at Thoothukudi, Dugarajapatnam, Kuchhadi, Kendrapara and Dighi, had received in-principle approval by August 2026. Thoothukudi alone envisages capacity of 2.5 million GT and about 15,000 direct jobs. The report advises prioritising clusters with credible anchor shipyards and visible order pipelines, with further support tied to demonstrated progress.
Supplier depth will determine domestic value addition. Indian yards are strong in hull fabrication, block assembly and outfitting, but rely on imports for marine-grade steel, propulsion, navigation systems and design engineering. Under the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme, assistance is linked to domestic content, with full support tied to a 40 per cent localisation threshold.
The report recommends a rolling 10-year vessel pipeline covering public and strategic requirements, standard reference designs for frequently procured vessels, long-tenure construction finance and refund-guarantee support, and demand-side financing through the Maritime Development Fund. It also proposes a coordinated marine steel programme, a 24-hour customs channel for urgent repair spares and common vendor qualification across shipyards.
The report emphasises that sustained competitiveness will depend not merely on adding shipyard capacity, but on securing repeat orders, improving delivery performance and building a stronger domestic supplier ecosystem.
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