Top Shipping Companies in India: an overview
Several of India's established ship-owning companies are headquartered in Mumbai. The Shipping Corporation of India was incorporated on 2 October 1961 through the amalgamation of the Eastern and Western Shipping Corporations, becoming the country's first public-sector shipping company. Great Eastern Shipping began operating in 1948 with a single Liberty ship and now runs dry bulk carriers and tankers. Specialist operators include SEAMEC in offshore and subsea support, and Chennai-based Sanmar Shipping, which runs product tankers and gas carriers.
Port operations mix government-owned entities with private operators. Adani Ports and SEZ, registered in Ahmedabad, describes itself as India's largest integrated ports and logistics company, with facilities that include Mundra, Hazira, Dhamra, Krishnapatnam and Vizhinjam. JSW Infrastructure, founded in 1999, listed on the NSE and BSE in 2023 and has added a liquid storage terminal in Fujairah. Kamarajar Port, about 24 km north of Chennai, was incorporated in 1999 and is a company of the Chennai Port Authority, while Dredging Corporation of India, set up in 1976, provides dredging to the major ports.
Public-sector shipyards operate on both coasts. Mazagon Dock in Mumbai, incorporated in 1934 and taken over by the government in 1960, reports delivering 806 vessels since 1960, including 31 warships and 8 submarines. Garden Reach Shipbuilders works from Kolkata, Hindustan Shipyard from Visakhapatnam, where it was set up in 1941, Goa Shipyard from Vasco da Gama, and Cochin Shipyard from Kochi. Ship classification and certification services are offered domestically by the Indian Register of Shipping, a not-for-profit body founded in 1975.