DP World’s Marine Services business, Shipping Solutions, has expanded its coastal shipping capabilities in India with the acquisition of DP World Indus, a 2,500+ TEU container vessel supporting domestic maritime trade.
The addition of the India-flagged vessel strengthens DP World’s ability to provide reliable, efficient, and sustainable cargo transportation across key Indian ports, while advancing resilient multimodal supply chains and supporting the growth of India’s coastal shipping network.
By supporting the movement of cargo via coastal shipping, the vessel helps reduce pressure on road networks while contributing to more resilient and environmentally responsible supply chains.
DP World’s Shipping Solutions coastal network in India currently spans 14 ports and maintains a dedicated fleet of 10 vessels. In 2025, the business handled more than 473,000 TEUs through its coastal shipping operations.
The vessel's maiden call at Jeddah South Container Terminal, operated by DP World, marks another milestone in the company's strategy to strengthen trade connectivity through greater integration between its ports and marine services businesses.
Ganesh Raj, Global Chief Operating Officer, Marine Services, DP World, said: "India's coastal shipping sector presents a significant opportunity to improve supply chain efficiency and support sustainable economic growth. We documented this opportunity gap in our ‘Enhancing India’s Ship Registry: Pathways to Global Competitiveness’ report in 2025, and the acquisition of India-flagged DP World Indus, reflects our commitment to strengthening domestic maritime connectivity and providing customers with reliable, high-quality services that connect businesses and markets across the country."
Coastal shipping plays an increasingly important role in enhancing multimodal transport networks, reducing carbon emissions, and improving cargo movement efficiency. By enhancing connectivity between India's major manufacturing, industrial, and consumption centres, DP World Indus will play an important role in facilitating the movement of containers along the country's coastline, offering customers a dependable alternative to long-haul land transport.
The acquisition of DP World Indus aligns with DP World's broader strategy to support India's trade and logistics ecosystem through continued investment in maritime infrastructure, ports, logistics services, and supply chain solutions.
DP World’s report, ‘Enhancing India’s Ship Registry: Pathways to Global Competitiveness’, offers a practical roadmap to strengthen India’s ship registry into a globally competitive, credible, and sustainable platform, positioning the Indian flag as a symbol of efficiency, trust, and modern maritime excellence. The report outlines key recommendations across governance reform, fiscal and commercial incentives, international outreach, and green transition initiatives. Each of these measures is designed to enhance competitiveness and align with India’s Maritime Vision 2030, supporting the Government’s ambition to position India as a global maritime leader.
Last year, in further support of this, DP World’s Shipping Solutions also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited (SMFC), a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, to collaborate on developing and scaling sustainable coastal and shortsea shipping services across the country.
Robban Assafina is now on WhatsApp channel. Click Here
