Denmark-based global towage provider Svitzer is partnering with Cochin Shipyard Ltd to construct four electric harbour tugs in Kochi as part of its global fleet renewal and expansion programme.Deniz Kirdar True, Managing Director – Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA), Svitzer, said the company is betting on India’s growing capabilities in building advanced, lower-emission vessels for international markets. India, according to her, is increasingly moving beyond a maritime policy focused primarily on ports and trade towards developing a broader industrial ecosystem encompassing shipbuilding, marine technology, skills, financing and green-vessel manufacturing.
What the Svitzer-CSL partnership signals for India’s emerging green shipbuilding capabilities?
India is accelerating its shipbuilding ambitions through a three-pronged strategy: the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme, a ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund, and the Shipbuilding Development Scheme for new clusters and yard modernization. These initiatives provide subsidies, affordable financing, and infrastructure support to make Indian shipyards globally competitive and position India among the world’s top shipbuilding nations by 2047.Svitzer brings global towage expertise and the requirements of a next-generation battery-electric tug, while CSL brings the infrastructure, skilled workforce and shipbuilding capability to deliver it in India. That combination of Indian capability, international demand and next-generation technology is what makes this project particularly meaningful for India’s green shipbuilding journey.
