Mumbai, Oct 2 — Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, on Friday called on the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) to take a leading role in India's drive toward self-reliant, globally competitive shipbuilding and maritime capacity.
Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is no longer content to simply own ships; we are determined to build them, right here at home, the minister said as the SCI marked 65 years of operations.
Sonowal highlighted the company's role in safeguarding India's energy and trade security, pointing specifically to its performance during the recent Strait of Hormuz crisis.
The minister called on SCI to help advance the government's Viksit Bharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat goals, framing a stronger national fleet as central to India's ambition of becoming a top shipbuilding and ship-owning nation by 2047.
"SCI is one of the clearest examples of India building its own strength at sea. As India works to become a top shipbuilding nation under Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, SCI's fleet, its people and its partnerships will be central to that mission,” he noted.
Founded in 1961 as a liner shipping company with 19 vessels, SCI has grown into a diversified maritime enterprise operating 58 vessels totalling 5.26 million deadweight tonnage (DWT).
The company's operations now span crude and product tankers, bulk and container shipping, LPG and LNG carriers, offshore services, passenger and coastal transport, project cargo, ship management, and shipbuilding consultancy.
“SCI's growth over these decades shows what Indian enterprise can achieve when backed by national resolve. As SCI expands its fleet and deepens its partnerships, it strengthens not just one company, but India's entire shipbuilding ambition, and carries us forward, mile by mile, toward the goal of a Viksit Bharat," Sonowal said.
Nitesh Narayan Rane, Maharashtra's Minister for Fisheries and Ports, credited SCI's enduring ties to Maharashtra and Mumbai, and said a strong shipping ecosystem remained essential to trade, employment and the broader growth of India's maritime economy.