In a major step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat on maritime trade, government-owned Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), and Sagarmala Finance Corporation are partnering with three major port authorities to launch the Bharat Container Line, a domestic container shipping company.
As per a report in the Economic Times, the joint venture will include Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (India’s largest container gateway), Chennai Port Authority, and V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority. A memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed in the coming days.
India is currently heavily dependent on foreign shipping lines, which handle most of the country’s container trade by volume. Indian entities handle only 5% of the export import cargo, resulting in a staggering annual freight outflow worth around USD 75 billion.
India pays Rs 6 lakh crores annually (or $75 billion) to foreign shipping companies every year as freight charges, an amount that is equivalent to our defence budget, a fact that was highlighted by PM Modi himself at the Samudra se Amriddhi event in Bhavnagar last year.
Under the proposed shareholding structure, SCI and CONCOR, both Navaratna companies, will each hold 30%, Sagarmala Finance Corporation, the newly launched NBFC by the government of India that is dedicated to funding in the maritime sector, will hold 20%, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority will control 10%, with Chennai and V.O. Chidambaranar ports sharing the remaining 10% equally.
CONCOR’s vast logistics backbone is expected to be the key force behind the shipping line. CONCOR holds 66 terminals, around 410 container trains, over 56,000 ISO containers, along with 4 million square foot of warehousing capacity.
The Bharat Container Line will boost coastal shipping, increase cargo volumes at partner ports, and strengthen India’s position in global container trade, aligning with the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.
India’s presence in container shipping space is currently constrained. The industry is dominated by global giants like Maersk, MSC, Evergreen, Wan Hai and CMA CGM.
