India and the Republic of Korea have unveiled a comprehensive framework to deepen cooperation in shipbuilding, shipping and maritime logistics, positioning these sectors as a central pillar of their Special Strategic Partnership. The announcement followed a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Lee Jae Myung during the Korean leader’s state visit to India.
The two sides agreed to align India’s Maritime Amrit Kaal 2047 vision with South Korea’s strengths in shipbuilding and port-led development, with a focus on developing greenfield and brownfield shipyard capacity in India. India outlined plans for large shipbuilding clusters backed by a Shipbuilding Development Scheme and other incentives, and invited Korean shipbuilding majors as strategic and technical partners across design, production and advanced manufacturing.
A non-binding memorandum of understanding has been noted between HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, a cluster developer and India’s Maritime Development Fund to jointly develop and finance a large greenfield shipyard in southern India, with both governments urging swift implementation. India also highlighted a public-sector plan to acquire more than 400 vessels, valued at about ₹2.2 lakh crore, and encouraged Korean and Indian firms to collaborate to meet this demand and build a more resilient shipbuilding ecosystem.
The framework includes cooperation on expanding existing Indian shipyards, setting up a block fabrication facility to support construction of large and specialized vessels, and attracting Korean marine equipment makers to supply into India’s growing component market. The two countries will also work together on maritime skills development through a KOICA-implemented project with India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and on broader maritime education and research links between leading universities. Both sides expressed confidence that the partnership will support economic growth in India and Korea and contribute to more secure, sustainable maritime supply chains.
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