News
India has formally launched the Bharat Container Shipping Line (BCSL), a new joint venture aimed at carving out a national presence in global container shipping and reducing the country’s heavy reliance on foreign carriers.
The initiative brings together a mix of state-owned shipping, rail, port, and finance entities, with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by The Shipping Corp. of India (SCI), Container Corp. of India (CONCOR), Sagarmala Finance Corp. Ltd. (SMFCL), the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), the Chennai Port Authority, and the V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority. CONCOR is estimated to have a stake of 30%; SMCFL, 20%; the JNPA, 10%; the Chennai Port Authority, 5%; and the V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority, 5%.
India intends to invest INR590 billion (US$6.5 billion) developing fleets of ships and container vans. BCSL is expected to become operational with a fleet of 51 containerships.
