Russia’s Maritime Board Chairman, Nikolai Patrushev, has suggested that India consider establishing shipbuilding and ship repair clusters in Mumbai or Chennai involving Russia, stating that “it is advisable to consider creating shipbuilding and ship repair clusters with Russia’s participation in important economic areas such as Mumbai or Chennai.” He was speaking at the Russian-Indian interdepartmental consultations on maritime cooperation.
He also noted the prospect of setting up a joint database of unified shipbuilding projects, which “will allow India to drastically reduce the costs of renovating its fleet.” He added, “We can offer New Delhi interesting initiatives in shipbuilding, including providing current projects or developing new ones for fishing, passenger, and auxiliary vessels. We have extensive experience in building specialized vessels, for example, ice-class vessels, not to mention icebreakers, where Russia is completely the only manufacturer and there is no competition. There are also opportunities for cooperation in “green” shipbuilding, which is one of the top priorities for India in the maritime sector.”
Enhancing bilateral cooperation in the civil maritime sector was discussed, with an emphasis on cooperation in shipbuilding, port infrastructure, and maritime logistics. Patrushev added that “The parties focused on the training of ship crews, as well as on scientific and research activities in the ocean exploration.”
Patrushev met with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Indian National Maritime Security Coordinator Biswajit Dasgupta, and Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways of India Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday (November 17).
Mumbai and Chennai might have competition. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is from Gujarat, northwest of Mumbai, which also has substantial shipbuilding facilities and is already cooperating with Russia.
Russia is investing US$6.2 billion in building a massive domestic merchant shipping program and intends to add more than 1,600 vessels to its fleet by 2036, with over 700 to be delivered by 2030.
