India can accelerate the industrial scale-up of its shipbuilding and ship-repair sector by creating a 10-year vessel procurement pipeline that will provide long-term demand visibility, a report by consulting firm EY and industry chamber FICCI said.
The report, titled “Optimising India’s Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Capacity: Roadmap for Industrial Scale-up”, recommended considering a national maritime demand and market assurance mechanism to consolidate requirements from public sector undertakings (PSUs), ports, coastal shipping operators, inland-waterway agencies and other major vessel users into a structured, rolling 10-year procurement pipeline.
“Standard vessel platforms and repeat procurement programmes could further improve shipyard productivity, supplier investment and financing access,” the report said.
India delivered ships with a combined gross tonnage (GT) of 57,637 in 2025, representing approximately 0.075 per cent of global output. Although output improved over 2024, the longer-term trend remains uneven, the report said.
“Domestic demand can provide the required order visibility. As of December 2025, 1,071 vessels in the Indian fleet were either more than 20 years old or aged 16–20 years. This presents a significant fleet-renewal opportunity, alongside demand from coastal shipping, inland waterways, port services and selected commercial vessel categories,” it added.
The report’s recommendations include strengthening maritime financing through long-tenure construction finance, working capital and refund-guarantee support, and deepening domestic supply chains by developing capabilities in critical marine equipment, supported by testing, certification and common vendor-qualification standards.
It also calls for scaling shipbuilding and ship repair together to create stronger utilisation of infrastructure, skills and supplier networks, along with developing integrated maritime clusters around major shipbuilding and repair locations to strengthen access to suppliers, logistics, skills and supporting infrastructure.
India’s geographic position provides an opportunity to expand its ship-repair capabilities.
Approximately 7-9 per cent of global maritime traffic passes within 300 nautical miles of its coastline, while its current share of the global ship-repair market indicates scope for further growth.
