The coastline of the mainland of India and of the islands is about 7,517 km long. India had a flourishing maritime trade even during the ancient days with East Indies and Middle East countries. The shipping got a setback with the arrival of European companies during the colonial rule.
At the time of independence, there were only 59 big and small ships with less than 2 lakh tons of GRT (Gross Registered Tonnage). The following recommendations were made by the Shipping Policy Committee appointed by the Government of India.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
1. India should secure 100 per cent of her coastal trade.
2. India should secure 75 per cent of her trade with Myanmar, Sri Lanka and other neighbouring countries.
Image Source: shippingcontainers24.com
3. India should secure 50 per cent of her overseas trade.
4. India should secure 30 per cent of the Orient’s trade.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
i. Today India has 12 major and 185 minor seaports.
ii. The country has the largest merchant shipping fleet among the developing countries.
iii. India ranks 17th in the world in shipping tonnage.
iv. There are more than 80 shipping companies, out of which the Shipping Corporation of India, is the largest.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
v. It has 118 vessels and about 30 lakh GRT.
vi. It operates overseas tanker and bulk carrier services on almost all the important ocean routes.
Problems of Shipping:
The Indian shipping industry is facing a number of problems. Some of them are as under:
1. Inadequacy of tonnage capacity.
2. Shortage of container fleet.
3. Over-aged vessels resulting in high operation costs.
4. Stiff competition with foreign shipping companies which provide better and cheaper service.
5. Congestion at the major ports, and
6. Inadequate infra-structural support like ship-repair facility, dry-docking and cargo handling.