Coastal & Merchant Shipping bills to integrate environmental standards, compliance steps : Sonowal
MUMBAI : Union Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday said that the upcoming Coastal Shipping and Merchant Shipping Bills will integrate stronger environmental standard and compliance measures, ensuring that India remains a global torch bearer for the industry’s sustainability. Delivering the valedictory address at the Green Shipping Conclave 2025 in Mumbai, Sonowal, who is the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, also called for a united approach and collaborative strategies for the transformation to be effective.
The conclave was also attended by State Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shri Shantanu Thakur, Secretary General of International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Arsenio Dominguez, Director General of Shipping Shyam Jagannathan, senior ministry officials, and industry leaders. The conclave served as a high-impact platform for policy dialogues, technical discussions, and roundtable meetings, engaging key stakeholders from the industry, government, and academia. The IMO Secretary-General chaired a CEO Round Table on Renewable Energy, focusing on clean fuel investments and green port infrastructure.
“Our upcoming Coastal Shipping and Merchant Shipping Bills will integrate stronger environmental standards and compliance measures, ensuring that India remains a global torchbearer for maritime sustainability,” Sonowal said. The two bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha during the winter session of Parliament last December. The Coastal Shipping Bill 2024 seeks prohibition of trade in the coastal water without licence by vessels other than Indian vessels and permitting inland vessels to engage in coastal trading, subject to certain conditions.
It also seeks to empower the director general to issue licence after taking into consideration certain factors, including citizenship of the crew and building requirements of the vessel, so as to create major jobs for Indian seafarers and to promote shipbuilding in the country. On the other hand, the Merchant Shipping Bill 2024 empowers the central government to take charge and detain vessels within India or in coastal waters as a vessel without nationality, if such vessel is not legally entitled to fly the flag of a state or has lost such right.
The bill seeks to repeal the Merchant Shipping Act 1958 and provides for “contemporaneous, futuristic, and dynamic legislation to meet the requirements of India as an emerging economy”.
The minister emphasised that the seas “do not belong to one nation alone”, and that they are shared by all. “Our approach must be united (and) our strategies collaboratives for this transformation to be effective,” he said.
He said the maritime sector must act decisively, embracing green in all areas — energy, ships, gateways, recycling, capital, alliances, and governance — as the pillar of this decarbonisation.
“India is not merely following global standards, we are setting those standards,” he said.
Sonowal added that the Rs 25,000-crore maritime development fund announced in the Union Budget for 2025-26 is catalysing investment in green ports infrastructure, fleet modernisation, and alternative fuel ecosystem, ensuring that India remains a leader in decarbonisation.
Sustainability is not merely a regulatory obligation — it is an economic opportunity and a moral responsibility, he added. Stating that shipping has been the backbone of commerce for centuries, which now must become the backbone of sustainability, he said “the oceans that carry our vessels also bear the burden of emission, pollution and climate change”.
“The responsibility to correct the course lies with us. Green shipping is no longer an aspiration, it is an imperative,” he said. The future of maritime transport lies in clean fuels, green hydrogen, ammonia, biofuel and LNG, he said, adding that India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission is paving the way for zero-emission fuels, ensuring our ports are not just fuelling trade, but also a sustainable future.
Through hydrogen, bunkering and alternative fuels, and supply infrastructure, we are positioning India as a regional hub for green energy solutions, the minister said.
“The challenge is immense, but so is our resolve. At the heart of this transformation are green ships, vessels that no longer run on yesterday’s fuel, but embrace the technology of tomorrow. Indian shipyards are leading the charge in constructing low-emission, hybrid and fully electric ships, reinforcing our commitment to make in India, make for the world,” Sonowal said.
Speaking at the conclave earlier in the day, Thakur said, “India is leading the maritime sector’s green transformation through clean energy, sustainable ports, and innovative shipbuilding. With bold policies, global collaborations, and investments in alternative fuels, we are setting new benchmarks for decarbonisation.”
Source : PTI