Hello Readers,

The big news of the week in the Indian shipping industry was the move by French container line CMA CGM Group to reflag two of its container ships to the Indian flag. In other words, the two container vessels will be registered in India, fly the Indian flag and will be counted as Indian tonnage.

While two other top notch global shipping companies – Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd and Singapore headquartered BW LPG - have earlier registered their ships in India by setting up local units, this is the first time that one of the top global container carriers have registered container ships in India.

For an economy striving to become $5 trillion soon, India’s container shipping capacity is nothing to rave about with hardly 30 ships operating under the Indian flag.

Again, except for state-run Shipping Corporation of India Ltd, no Indian fleet owner is present in the mainline container shipping sector, an issue that has always roiled the country’s export-import trade because they are at the “mercy” of foreign carriers. SCI owns and runs just three container ships and one hired ship.

India missed the container shipping bus when the world opted to move their merchandise in steel containers decades ago due to lack of policy and foresight. This has hurt the country’s EXIM trade, both in terms of instability in freight rates and lack of shipping capacity and equipment to move goods.

CMA CGM’s move would be keenly watched by other global container lines to gauge the efficacy and commercial as well as financial feasibility of running Indian flagged container ships, ahead of following in the footsteps of the French line.

That apart, the Indian registered ships of CMA CGM would benefit from a so-called cabotage rule under which India’s coastal trade (shipping cargo on local routes along the coast) is reserved for Indian flag ships and foreign ships are allowed to operate only when locally flagged ships are not available.

The fact that CMA CGM chose the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), India's first and currently the only International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) operating under the Special Economic Zone Act, to own the ships is an indication of the tax free enclave’s growing popularity as a platform to undertake ship leasing activities compared to the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA).

ET Infra first reported in-depth on CMA CGM’s decision and what it means for Indian shipping. Read here


Here’s a quick look at other important updates from the week:

Container train operators feel the heat
Ocean liners are going all-in on end-to-end logistics—and container train operators are starting to feel the pressure. With shipping giants extending their services deeper inland, rail-based logistics companies find themselves fighting for a shrinking pie.

Read the full story

Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port faces rough waters
One of India’s oldest ports, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata, is struggling after the government pulled back dredging support, raising alarms about operational viability. Will this key gateway survive the turbulence?

Catch the full update

Bangladesh-India trade tensions escalate
In a major setback, Dhaka has shut land ports amid rising trade tensions, and Delhi has revoked transit rights in retaliation. This diplomatic flare-up could ripple through regional connectivity and bilateral trade routes.

Explore the story

US slaps new port fees on Chinese ships
In a fresh move to tackle the growing trade imbalance with China, the United States has introduced new port fees on Chinese ships. A bold strategy or a potential flashpoint for a trade war? Time will tell.

Know more here

Stay tuned for more!

We’ll be back next week with more exclusive insights, expert views and critical updates from the world of infrastructure. Until then, keep building!

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