Hardeep Puri calls for India-Korea cooperation in ship-building

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday called for cooperation between India and South Korea in ship-building, saying this cooperation model can help build vessels not only to meet India’s growing needs but also to serve global markets.

Korea has the technological expertise and experience in ship construction, while India offers strong demand, skilled manpower and supportive policies, he said.

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He said that vessels built under such collaborative arrangements can recover costs within five years and position India as a major global maritime hub.

Mr. Puri was visiting the sprawling Hanwha Ocean shipbuilding facility at Geoje in South Korea.

The visit marks a key highlight of the minister’s ongoing engagements in the Republic of Korea from November 13-15, aimed at deepening maritime cooperation and expanding opportunities in shipbuilding, fleet development, and energy transportation.

These engagements are part of India’s broader efforts under the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, which seeks to substantially scale up India’s commercial fleet capacity, enhance domestic shipbuilding infrastructure and improve global competitiveness across ship operations, maritime engineering and allied sectors.

During the visit to Hanwha Ocean, he was briefed on the company’s shipbuilding capabilities, advanced vessel construction processes and innovation in maritime technologies.

He underscored that the strong performance of the Indian economy, among the fastest-growing globally, combined with the rapid expansion of India’s energy sector, creates significant opportunities for collaboration.

Mr Puri stated that India’s energy PSUs spend about $ 5–8 billion annually on freight, and have an immediate requirement of nearly 59 vessels. This presents a huge opportunity for global leaders such as Hanwha Ocean to partner with India in building these vessels domestically.

The minister further highlighted the robust support measures introduced by the Government of India to accelerate domestic shipbuilding.

These include 15–25 per cent capital support for vessels constructed in India, an additional 5 per cent incentive for ship recycling activities, creation of a Marine Development Fund for equity financing, a 3 per cent interest subvention scheme, and infrastructure support for new greenfield shipyards and maritime clusters.

He noted that these initiatives create a favourable ecosystem for shipbuilders and investors, and align with India’s long-term strategy to expand its commercial fleet and enhance maritime self-reliance.