Mumbai: In a major development in the shipping sector, the Germany-headquartered international shipping and container transportation company and the Government of India signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to deepen maritime cooperation and support the continued development of India's shipping and logistics sector including exploring opportunities at the upcoming Vadhavan Port near Mumbai.
The agreement outlines areas of potential cooperation including ship reflagging, the development of sustainable ship recycling capacity, and strategic collaboration related to the development of Vadhavan Port in the Palghar district of Maharashtra.
"India is one of the most important growth markets in global trade and a key strategic partner for Hapag-Lloyd," said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd. "Through this Letter of Intent, we want to further strengthen our long-standing relationships with India and support the country's ambitions to expand its maritime capabilities, enhance global connectivity and advance sustainable shipping," he added.
Shipbuilder SDHI wins India's first chemical tanker orderAs part of the LOI, Hapag-Lloyd intends to explore the reflagging of up to four vessels under the Indian registry.
At this stage, no specific timeline, vessel profile or capacity range has been defined.
Any reflagging would remain subject to further discussions, internal assessments, commercial considerations and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
The LOI also includes cooperation on the development of a ship recycling ecosystem in India.
Hapag-Lloyd is committed to ensuring that end-of-life vessels are recycled safely and responsibly in facilities that meet the highest environmental and safety standards. The intended cooperation aims to support the development of recycling capacity in India aligned with the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR), currently regarded as the leading international standard. The envisioned ecosystem could provide capacity for recycling up to 100 vessels.
In addition, the LOI foresees discussions on a strategic cooperation framework related to the development of Vadhavan Port in collaboration with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority.
As one of India's major upcoming infrastructure projects, Vadhavan Port is expected to play an important role in strengthening the country's maritime logistics network. Hapag-Lloyd intends to contribute its global shipping and terminal expertise to support this development.
"India's port and logistics infrastructure is developing at remarkable speed and scale," said Dheeraj Bhatia, CEO of Hanseatic Global Terminals and member of the Hapag-Lloyd Executive Board. "Projects such as Vadhavan Port have the potential to significantly strengthen India's role in global supply chains. We look forward to help developing an efficient, future-ready port infrastructure in India," he added.