India is upgrading shipbreaking yards, particularly in Gujarat, to meet European environmental standards, enabling access to vessels from Euro shipowners currently restricted from India and Bangladesh. V.O. Chidambaranar (VOC) Port Authority Chairperson Susanta Kumar Purohit highlighted strong government backing, projecting many yards to achieve compliance within 3-5 years amid a sector-wide green operations push.
Speaking at a PHDCCI roundtable on March 12, 2026, Purohit noted recent budget measures like the ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund, incentives for shipbuilding, R&D, and skills to elevate India’s global shipbuilding share from 0.06%. Tuticorin Port emerges as a green hub with all-renewable power (solar plus new 1 MW addition for carbon neutrality), all-weather ops, low dredging, and proximity to transport links.
Ship recycling fosters a circular economy via secondary steel reuse, carbon credits, CCUS, and green compliance, spurring jobs in southern/eastern ports. VOC Port’s expansions include container capacity from 1.2M to 8M TEUs (Feb 2026), with Outer Harbour adding 4M TEUs in three years; it also pioneers women-run terminals amid 10% YoY cargo growth.
This aligns with inland waterways, coastal shipping, and cruise tourism boosts, cutting logistics costs through tech like AI/IT for efficient, user-friendly ops.
