Seatrade Maritime: Indian container line takes shape with MoU signing

The formation Bharat Container Shipping Line (BCSL) of the is slowly coming together with the latest move the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will establish the carrier.

A half a dozen companies were signatories to the MoU including the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and the Container Corporation of India (Concor) who will each hold a 30% stake in BCSL, with a20% stake for Sagarmala Finance Corp, 10% for Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, and 5% each for V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority and Chennai Port Authority.

BCSL will order 15 container ships from domestic yards in the next financial year, ending in 2027, with the intention of operating 51 vessels, owned and chartered, within the next five years.

The Indian carrier’s initial operational focus will be regional, up to the Red Sea in the west and east to other parts of Asia, but in the long term the expectation for the world’s fourth largest economy is to expand its links to Africa, Europe and the US.

Alphaliner reported that there are two funding measures that are confirmed by the signing of the MoU, including a $1 billion assistance scheme over five years that will a container manufacturing operation capable of producing one million teu annually.

Another $1.6 billion will increase port capacity that will support India’s new container ecosystem, as part of the broader national strategy, that requires India to be self-reliant in shipping.

The wider maritime sector will play a critical role as the “robust engine of the nation’s development” in the national Amrit Kaal 2047 policy, that will transform the nation into a developed country, 100 years after independence.

That will see the development of ship building yards as well as recycling facilities, the extension and investment in ports and logistics as well as the development of BCSL.

Sarbananda Sonowal, the Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), confirmed that these initiatives, “The Bharat Container Shipping Line, aligned with the Container Manufacturing Assistance Scheme (CMAS) announced in Budget 2026–27, will anchor India’s container trade in Indian hands.

Overall the Minister concluded that the policy decisions that are being put into practice are, “Likely to play a multiplier role to enhance our strategic and commercial presence in global maritime trade.”