CMA CGM steps up maritime talks with Indian government

France-based shipping colossal CMA CGM has held talks with officials from the Indian Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) regarding maritime transport, shipbuilding, container terminals, multimodal logistics, and maritime industrial opportunities in the Southeast Asian nation.

According to MoPSW, the discussions were held during the government branch’s official visit to CMA CGM’s headquarters in Marseille on June 12. The development comes just months after the company, together with Switzerland’s MSC and Denmark’s Maersk, announced plans to ‘strengthen’ its foothold in the Indian market, with plans to seek various investment (and growth) opportunities in the region.

In regards to shipbuilding efforts in India, the ministry said that the CMA CGM Group has expressed interest in ‘advancing’ the discussions with the nation’s entities for the construction of containerships powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Moreover, the French shipping player is reportedly eyeing the Indian ship recycling ecosystem, particularly in Alang. As part of this vision, it is understood that CMA CGM is to source containers and green steel from India, in line with worldwide sustainability goals.

Per MoPSW, joint port and infrastructure investments have also been progressing, including a $200 million expansion at the Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal, where CMA CGM welcomed the arrival of what was hailed as “the first India-flagged boxship“, the CMA CGM Vitoria. The company also owns the India-flagged CMA CGM Manaus.

The delivery of CC Vitoria was marked at the end of April 2025, and the milestone is seen as an ‘important’ step in India’s efforts to strengthen its position in the global maritime arena.

The ministry noted that the Group has also established a new shipping entity at GIFT City in Gujarat.

Officials have MoPSW have further shared that progress has also been made with the Vadhavan Port project, a large-scale endeavor of the Indian government to build “one of the world’s top 10 container ports by 2040.” Once inaugurated, it is envisaged to handle 23 million TEUs annually and include nine container terminals.

In January this year, South Korea’s HMM, one of the largest maritime transportation players in the container segment in the world, inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) to collaborate on developing Vadhvan Port.

As divulged at the time, with a natural depth of 20 meters, deeper than the 15.5 meters at Nhava Sheva, the port will accommodate HMM’s 24,000 TEU vessels and offer ‘strong’ connectivity to India’s inland logistics network.

Dutch shipbuilder Damen has also eyed collaboration opportunities in India. To remind, in late April this year, Square Port Shipyard and Damen Technical Cooperation (DTC) signed an MoU to develop a shipyard that will construct a range of Damen vessels to meet the needs of the regional market.

As informed, there are more than 1,500 vessels currently registered under the Indian fleet (as of December 2023). The country’s government has endeavored to boost this number further.

In February this year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unpacked a long-term financing plan valued at $2.9 billion to go toward the establishment of a maritime development fund (MDF), primarily intended for new ship acquisitions.

The MDF also covers financial aid for new green shipping initiatives, modernizing existing and building new ports, investing in ship repair facilities, and encouraging innovation in maritime logistics and fleet efficiency.

Just one month later, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways revealed that a whopping $23.8 billion would be poured into India’s shipbuilding and maritime transport sectors. At the time, MoPSW underlined that the financing would be used to support the creation of four million gross registered tonnage (GRT) in shipbuilding capacity.

As understood, presently, India builds a relatively small number of commercial ships per year, with an output of around 0.072 million GT. The number is said to fall short of the targets envisioned for 2030 and 2047.

What is more, the government stated that a Green Tug Transition Program (GTTP) would be kick-started with the aim of reducing emissions by achieving 50% of zero-emission tug operations by 2030 and fully green operations by 2047.