GAIL (India) Ltd, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (“K” LINE) and J M Baxi Marine Services have signed a term sheet for equity participation in a Singapore-based ship-owning company to strengthen LNG shipping capacity for India. The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri.
Under the proposed arrangement, GAIL will invest through its wholly owned subsidiary, GAIL Global IFSC Limited, based in GIFT City, Gujarat, subject to approval from DIPAM. In parallel, GAIL has entered into a long-term charter agreement with the ship-owning company, with operations expected to commence from 2027. The LNG vessel for the partnership is currently under construction at a shipyard in Korea.
GAIL Chairman and Managing Director Sandeep Kumar Gupta said the initiative aligns long-term shipping availability with India’s growing LNG demand, adding that equity ownership alongside chartering ensures closer operational and commercial alignment. He noted that the investment supports India’s objective of increasing domestic ownership of strategic maritime assets in line with the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision.
“K” LINE’s Senior Managing Corporate Officer Satoshi Kanamori said the partnership combines the strengths of three trusted companies to build a reliable LNG shipping platform for India’s long-term energy needs. Dhruv Kotak of the J M Baxi Group said the venture marks a key step in strengthening India’s clean energy-linked maritime and logistics infrastructure.
The partnership comes as LNG shipping gains strategic importance in supporting India’s energy security and transition to cleaner fuels across power, industry, city gas and transport sectors.