India’s maritime sector stands on the brink of a major transformation with the enactment of the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025. This landmark legislation replaces the long-standing Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, ushering in a forward-looking, technology-driven, and internationally aligned maritime governance framework. Enacted in August 2025 and awaiting phased notification by the Central Government, the Act symbolizes India’s renewed ambition to emerge as a global maritime power by integrating safety, efficiency, and sustainability into its shipping laws.
1.Broadened Applicability – Inclusion Beyond Mechanized Vessels
The new Act significantly widens the definition of “sea-going vessel.” Under the 1958 Act, only ships equipped with mechanical propulsion were covered. The 2025 Act, however, extends regulatory oversight to all types of sea-going vessels—including non-motorized, sail-powered, or traditional wooden crafts, such as rowboats and catamarans. This inclusion ensures uniform safety, registration, and liability standards across the entire maritime ecosystem, including smaller and heritage vessels operating along India’s extensive coastline.
2. Liberalized Ownership – Opening Doors for Global Investors
Previously, Indian citizenship was a precondition for vessel ownership. The 2025 Act introduces a progressive shift by permitting ownership by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), and other notified foreign entities. This is a strategic step toward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Indian shipping industry.
By allowing joint ownership models and removing the obligation for OCI-owned vessels to register in India, the Act encourages global investors to collaborate with Indian shipping companies, thereby expanding Indian tonnage and enhancing access to international trade routes.
3. Bareboat Charter Registration – Bridging Domestic and Global Trade
A standout feature appears in Section 16, which allows a foreign vessel chartered on a bareboat charter-cum-demise basis to be registered as an Indian vessel. This provision empowers Indian charterers to operate foreign-owned ships under the Indian flag, facilitating entry into global freight markets and optimizing vessel utilization.
This move not only boosts India’s tonnage capacity but also strengthens its presence in the international maritime domain. The introduction of temporary and provisional registration under Part III also harmonizes domestic law with the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019, promoting a structured, environmentally responsible ship recycling regime.
4. Maritime Education, Training and Seafarer Welfare
For the first time, the Act introduces an independent Part IV – Maritime Education and Training, establishing a dedicated regulatory system for certification, training, and skill development.
It empowers the Director General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) to recognize foreign certifications, approve training institutes, and ensure the quality of seafarer education.
Crucially, Section 78 adopts the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) in a more expansive manner, covering not only conditions of work and wages but also social security, welfare, and safety for Indian seafarers employed on both Indian and foreign-flagged ships. This provision marks a monumental shift toward humanizing maritime law, ensuring that the rights and dignity of Indian seafarers receive global parity and protection.
5. Environmental Protection and Pollution Control
The 2025 Act fully integrates International Maritime Organization (IMO) pollution prevention conventions, expanding the requirement of pollution prevention certificates to all vessels, regardless of tonnage.
Earlier, only oil tankers above 150 gross tons and ships above 400 gross tons were covered. Now, even smaller vessels are obligated to comply, ensuring comprehensive environmental oversight.
This may modestly increase compliance costs but brings India in line with MARPOL standards and reinforces its global commitment to marine ecology and carbon neutrality.
6. Survey, Certification, and Safety Oversight
Part VIII introduces a uniform regime for survey, audit, and certification of vessels, ports, and maritime companies. Surveyors appointed by the DGMA are empowered to verify compliance, issue or revoke certificates, and mandate re-inspection in case of violations.
In addition, Part VI deals with safety, casualty investigation, and salvage operations, ensuring quick response to maritime emergencies, better coordination with coastal authorities, and mandatory insurance for smaller coasting and fishing vessels. This focus on proactive risk management marks a shift from reactive enforcement to preventive maritime governance.
7. Liability, Compensation, and Maritime Justice
A major advancement comes in Part IX, which creates a framework for limitation of liability for shipowners and operators, and establishes a limitation fund to address maritime claims.
This system ensures a balanced approach — providing compensation to victims of marine accidents while safeguarding operators from disproportionate liability.
It aligns Indian practice with international conventions such as the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC), ensuring predictability, fairness, and global credibility in India’s maritime legal environment.
8. Modernization of Administration and Offences
The Act renames the apex authority as the Director General of Maritime Administration, decentralizing powers earlier reserved for the Central Government. The law decriminalizes certain outdated offences—such as sending an unseaworthy vessel to sea—while introducing new offences for environmental pollution, unlicensed recruitment, and violations of labour standards, imposing civil penalties instead of imprisonment. This reflects a global shift from punitive to compliance-oriented maritime regulation, aligning India with modern international enforcement norms.
9. Progressive Governance for a Global Maritime Future
Beyond statutory reform, the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025 symbolizes India’s intent to build a transparent, efficient, and investment-friendly maritime regime. It emphasizes technology integration, digitized vessel tracking, crew documentation, and e-certification—ushering in a Maritime 4.0 era.
The Act’s provisions on temporary vessel registration, enhanced training standards, pollution prevention, and welfare of seafarers collectively transform India’s maritime sector into a globally competitive ecosystem.