India Plans 100 Ships to Cut $75 Billion Foreign Freight Bill, Boost Maritime Self-Reliance

India’s plan to add 100 vessels to its merchant fleet over the next five years is not simply a ship-buying exercise. It is part of a larger effort to reduce dependence on foreign shipping, strengthen domestic shipbuilding and bring more of the economic value generated by India’s global trade into the country.

The target was announced at the first ‘Sagar Samvad’ of the National Shipping Board, where Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal backed a five-point roadmap covering fiscal reform, assured cargo support, competitive financing, regulatory streamlining and ease of doing business.

The urgency is clear. India pays nearly $75 billion annually to foreign shipping lines to transport cargo including crude oil, gas, coal and urea. Yet Indian-flagged vessels currently face a 16-20% cost disadvantage compared with foreign-flagged ships, according to industry representatives at the event. Higher domestic capital costs and various tax and operating burdens make it harder for Indian shipowners to compete.

That makes the 100-ship target less about adding vessels for their own sake and more about fixing the economics around them. Without cheaper financing, assured cargo and a more competitive tax and regulatory environment, simply increasing the fleet could leave Indian operators struggling to match foreign freight rates.

The move also builds on a ₹69,725-crore maritime package approved in September 2025, which includes shipbuilding financial assistance, a ₹25,000-crore Maritime Development Fund and a Shipbuilding Development Scheme. Guidelines for key components were subsequently issued, while financing mechanisms have moved into implementation.

The broader ambition goes beyond owning ships. India is seeking to expand domestic shipbuilding capacity, with a target of 4.5 million gross tonnes annually, while developing shipbuilding clusters and strengthening the maritime supply chain.

The workforce is another pillar. Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said India’s large seafaring workforce could become a major source of quality employment, particularly in emerging areas such as cruise shipping and advanced shipbuilding.

The 100 ships, therefore, are best viewed as an early milestone in a much longer journey. The real test of Atmanirbhar Bharat will be whether India can make its fleet commercially competitive while steadily building the shipyards, skills, finance and industrial ecosystem needed to sustain it.