- Sonowal charts a new maritime voyage from GIFT City, shifting India’s ambition from flying the flag to owning, controlling and financing the fleet
- GIFT City emerges as launchpad for a comprehensive global maritime value chain
- 38 ship lessors already registered, leasing 43 vessels with capacity exceeding 2.99 million DWT
- 41 domestic and international banks in IFSC have provided nearly $60.1 million in funding
- ₹25,000-crore Maritime Development Fund targets up to ₹1.5 lakh crore investment by 2030
NE BUSINESS BUREAU
GANDHINAGAR, SEPT 11
India once ruled the blue waters, with the maritime prowess of ancient coastal centres such as Lothal standing as a reminder of a civilisation that understood ships, trade and the sea as engines of prosperity. Centuries later, the ambition is no longer merely to revive that legacy—it is to convert it into a modern global maritime power backed by ownership, finance, shipbuilding and an ecosystem that can compete with the world’s best.
That was the larger message emerging from the India Ship Leasing and Financing Summit at GIFT City, where Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal laid out a vision of India moving beyond ships that merely fly its flag to vessels that the country owns, controls and finances across global waters.
“This gathering marks a significant milestone in our collective journey to position India, and particularly GIFT City, as a global maritime hub for a comprehensive maritime value chain ecosystem — encompassing ship leasing, owning, financing, insurance, brokering and other ancillary services,” Sonowal said.
The summit, organised by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in association with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, brought together policymakers, ship owners, lessors, charterers, financiers and other maritime stakeholders to explore how GIFT City can become the financial nerve centre of India’s next maritime expansion.
From flag to fleet
Sonowal described the transformation in particularly striking terms.
“More fundamentally, it marks a shift in how we count our fleet — from tonnage that flies our flag to tonnage that we own and control. PM Narendra Modi ji’s dynamic leadership has carried GIFT City from thought to fruition, and it is now poised to be the launchpad for India’s next wave of maritime growth,” he said.
The numbers indicate that this transition is already beginning.
As many as 38 ship lessors have registered in the IFSC and are leasing 43 vessels, representing a combined leasing capacity of more than 2.99 million DWT. Of these, 24 vessels are under the Indian flag.
The financial ecosystem is expanding alongside the fleet. Forty-one domestic and international banks are currently present in the IFSC and have provided close to $60.1 million in funding to ship-leasing entities.
The setting up of the first regional office of the Directorate General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) in GIFT City is expected to further strengthen the maritime ecosystem.
A financial engine for maritime growth
The Centre is simultaneously putting substantial financial muscle behind its maritime ambitions.
The ₹25,000-crore Maritime Development Fund is expected to catalyse investments of up to ₹1.5 lakh crore by 2030, while the revised Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) 2.0, with an outlay of ₹24,736 crore, has been extended up to 2036.
Together, these initiatives seek to strengthen India’s shipbuilding capacity, expand the domestic fleet and create an ecosystem in which shipping, finance, insurance, leasing and allied services reinforce one another.
The policy direction is aligned with the broader objectives of Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, including expansion of port capacity and coastal shipping and India’s ambition to enter the top five global shipbuilding nations.
Breaking old maritime barriers
Recent policy reforms are also designed to make India more competitive in international shipping.
Among the measures highlighted are exemption from licensing requirements under the Coastal Shipping Act, 2025 for foreign vessels operating on charter, and permission for shipping companies based in GIFT IFSC to own foreign-flag vessels.
The significance is strategic: Indian maritime enterprises need not be confined to owning only Indian-flag vessels if the larger objective is to build a globally competitive fleet and financial ecosystem.
India’s existing strength in ship recycling provides another important foundation. The country’s share of global ship recycling tonnage increased from 30.1% in 2024 to 35.4% in 2025, reinforcing its position in yet another segment of the maritime value chain.
From Lothal to GIFT City
The symbolism was hard to miss as Sonowal invoked India’s ancient maritime heritage, including the legacy of Lothal, while outlining the country’s contemporary maritime ambitions.
The journey from ancient ports and trading routes to a modern financial centre may span thousands of years, but the strategic principle remains remarkably familiar: control of maritime commerce creates economic power.
The difference today is that ships are only one part of that equation. Ownership, leasing, finance, insurance, brokering, shipbuilding, recycling and sophisticated maritime services must operate as one integrated ecosystem.
That is precisely the opportunity GIFT City is seeking to capture.
The summit also saw Sonowal unveil the brochure for the National Maritime Games 2027, scheduled to be held at Ganpat University, Gujarat, under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways.
With GIFT City increasingly positioning itself as a hub for maritime finance, the message from Gandhinagar was unmistakable: India’s maritime resurgence is being designed not simply around more ships, but around greater ownership, deeper financial capability and a larger share of the global maritime value chain.
The blue waters that once carried India’s traders and seafarers could once again become the pathway to a golden maritime future—this time powered by modern finance, technology, policy and global ambition.
