Oil PSUs Back Mega Shipping JV With SCI

02 Mar 2026 CW Team

The joint venture will be led by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) with a 50 per cent stake, while Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) will together hold a 35 per cent equity stake and the Maritime Development Fund (MDF) will hold the remaining 15 per cent under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways. The structure is intended to combine SCI's technical expertise, capital from the oil public sector undertakings and government policy support.

The three oil public sector undertakings plan an investment of Rs 150 bn to Rs 170 bn to set up an integrated logistics platform and to acquire or build fifty nine vessels by 2030. India imports the third-largest volume of crude oil and nearly 90 per cent of that cargo is carried on foreign-flagged vessels, producing an annual freight outgo estimated at Rs 6.2 tn. The JV aims to retain those payments within the domestic economy.

The fleet will include very large crude carriers capable of carrying two million barrels, very large gas carriers for liquefied petroleum gas, product tankers and offshore support vessels for deep-sea work by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL India). Many of the vessels are expected to be commissioned through Indian shipyards under the Atmanirbhar Bharat drive to revive shipbuilding, standardise designs and create skilled maritime jobs.

The JV is aligned with the Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 for the maritime sector and proponents say it could reduce exposure to global freight markets, producing potential annual savings of about Rs 745 bn to Rs 827 bn. The venture will need rapid fleet modernisation and more commercial procurement and operational practices to compete with global shipping majors, and the availability of low-cost financing from the Maritime Development Fund will influence how quickly the fleet can be scaled.

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