Navigating Global Shipbuilding Waves: Where Does India Stand?

From Continents to Oceans Know Where is India in the Global Shipbuilding Arena

As global development is on the horizon, India has dipped its feet in the growth and expansion of its shipbuilding industry. India’s shipbuilding business is on the verge of transforming itself for the better. With this rapid growth, India’s shipbuilding business is set to attract prospects from global shipbuilding powerhouses like South Korea and Japan.

According to Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, these countries are looking to invest in India’s shipbuilding business, providing a much needed boost to India’s maritime ambitions. He further explained that countries like Japan and South Korea will also participate in direct investments, joint ventures, and technology sharing.

This confidence in the development of the shipbuilding business of India will prove a steppingstone in fulfilling the maritime ambition of the Government of India and its Maritime India Vision 2030. This initiative will work in the area of elevating India’s rank in the global shipbuilding business, which currently ranks at 22nd position.

This increased interest in the shipbuilding business is fueled by the ‘Maritime India Vision 2030’ campaign. As according to this initiative, India aims to break into the top 10 by 2030 and achieve a top five rank by 2047, in line with the broader vision outlined in Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.

Rick Legacy of Indian Maritime

India boasts of rich maritime outputs since the early days of trade with Southeast Asia, Africa, and West Asia during the colonial era. Dating back decades, India’s shipbuilding business has been on the rise since coastal regions like Gujarat, Bengal, and Odisha served as major hubs for constructing vessels facilitating trade.

However, these businesses took a hit during independence. And post-independence, these began to rebuild and reshape themselves with state-run enterprises like Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). These companies also helped the defense sector reinstate state-of-the-art ships for the Indian Navy Coast Guard while also producing commercial ships.

India’s Road to Growth & its Challenges

Currently, the global shipbuilding business is backed to grow from $207.15 billion in 2023 to $220.52 billion in 2024. And this economic growth in emerging markets will lead to increased demand for cruise ships, leading the way for India to catch quick on the global market.

Right now, India's shipbuilding industry is experiencing exponential growth, valued at $90 million in 2022 and projected to reach $8,120 million by 2033, with a staggering CAGR of 60%. This means with government support, strategic location, and labor cost advantages, India can boom in offshore support vessels and ferries.

According to the GOI (Government of India), India's shipping market demand could result in an opportunity worth over $237 billion by 2047. With proper planning by the Ministry of Ports, Maritime India Vision 2030 aims to strengthen India's maritime sector with investments of Rs 1,00,000 to 1,25,000 crore for capacity augmentation and development of world-class infrastructure at Indian ports.

While India’s ambition to compete with giants like China, Japan, and South Korea seems far-fetched, the roadmap of the Maritime India Vision 20230 is all set to change the industry’s current trajectory, suggesting that India is ready to make significant waves in the global shipbuilding arena.

Based on the latest data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity and the International Trade Centre (ITC), the top 20 countries that spend most in terms of passenger and cargo ship exports in 2023 are:

China- $25 billion
South Korea- $16.7 billion
Japan- $9.6 billion
Italy- $5.1 billion
Germany- $3.9 billion
United Arab Emirates- $2.5 billion
Finland- $2.2 billion
France- $2.2 billion
Denmark- $1.9 billion
Poland- $1.6 billion
Cyprus- $1.3 billion
India- $1.12 billion
Belgium- $993 million
Turkey- $658 million
Ivory Coast- $629 million
Philippines- $462 million
Marshall Islands- $439 million
Indonesia- $274 million
Croatia- $271 million
Netherlands- $249 million