New Delhi: Russian state-owned Delo Group plans to build terminals on India’s inland waterways such as rivers and canals as well as strategic ports including Mormugao in Goa through joint ventures with local public and private shipyards, three people with knowledge of the matter said.
The plan for the shipping and logistics major, founded by Russian oligarch Sergey Shishkarev, is expected to gain momentum, with a firm deal expected to be struck after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India later this week, they said on condition of anonymity.
After courting Japan and South Korea, New Delhi is turning to longtime ally Moscow to support the next phase of its shipbuilding and port development ambitions.
“An Indian delegation comprising government officials and industry representatives will soon leave for Moscow to finalize partnerships between Indian and Russian entities in shipbuilding, shipbreaking and port and terminal development projects,” said the first of the three people cited above.
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A Delo Group team was in India last month to work together to anchor a Russian-led maritime infrastructure footprint in India; with its entry marking a significant expansion of Russia’s naval presence in the Indo-Pacific. While Shishkarev, a former member of the lower house of the Russian parliament, the Duma, owns a 50% stake in Delo Group, the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom owns 49%. Delo operates shipping terminals in three key maritime areas of the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Far East, providing critical cargo connections in Russia and to global markets.
A senior official of India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) said Delo representatives were part of a Russian delegation that visited India last month. The company is interested in investing in India and discussions are being facilitated on possible joint ventures with public and private shipbuilders to support Russian-led maritime infrastructure projects in India.
A range of projects
The first person quoted above said that among other development projects, the Delo group is considering launching a regular sea container service linking Russia’s Novorossiysk port with Goa’s Mormugao port, which ceased container operations many years ago.
According to the second person, the Russian company would also partner with Indian entities to provide technical expertise in the production of boats, small craft, catamarans and container flat cars that would enable India to use its inland waterway systems and boost both cargo and passenger services.
Queries sent to the Delo Group, the Russian Embassy in New Delhi, the Indian Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways remained unanswered till press time.
So far, India has approached Japanese and Korean shipbuilders to invest and develop ship manufacturing and repair facilities in the country. Russia is now being considered because of its strong transport and logistics industry, particularly its expertise in the development of waterway systems.
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India moved a record 145.5 million tonnes (MT) of cargo through its inland waterways in the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25), a significant increase from 18.1 MT in 2013-14. This increase was due to government initiatives such as the Jalvahak program, which provides incentives for moving cargo onto waterways, and extensive infrastructure development, including the creation of more national waterways and the extension of service lengths.
C. Uday Bhaskar, a Navy veteran and director of the Society for Policy Studies think tank, said: “India and Russia have been trying to expand their partnership for a long time. Until now, the partnership has largely been based on one vertical – defense. Energy ties are currently under pressure from the US.”
Principal partner
Russia, with its expertise and experience, could be a major partner for the development of India’s maritime space in line with the government’s vision for the development of the sector, he said.
“It would be beneficial for the Indian maritime sector to partner with Russia, albeit with some caution. It would be important to see what Russia comes up with,” he added.
The government aims to commission 76 waterways by 2027, increase cargo volume to 156 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by March 2026 and expand coverage to 23 states and 4 Union Territories. Other targets include achieving more than 200 MTPA by 2030 (Maritime India Vision 2030) and more than 500 MTPA by 2047 (Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047), aiming to increase the modal share of freight from 2% to 5%.
“Russia has a lot of funds in India and investment in shipping can be a productive use of funds provided the ships are flagged in India. Russian companies have experience in operating services for handling medium to small containers as well as large dry and wet bulk vessels,” said Anil Devli, CEO, Indian National Shipowners’ Association (INSA), an industry body.
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Russia also has vast experience in shipbuilding and they should be encouraged to explore cooperation and place orders for Russian or Indian-flagged ships. Besides, the INSTC corridor needs to be built so that cargo from India to Russia can use the said route, Devli added.
INSTC or International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multimodal trade route connecting India, Russia, Iran and several European and Central Asian countries.
Moscow has offered Delhi several shipbuilding initiatives, including sharing existing designs or developing new ones for fishing, passenger and support vessels, as part of efforts to boost maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean region.
During consultations held last month between President Putin’s trusted advisor and former National Security Advisor (NSA) Nikolai Patrushev and Indian Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, the two sides explored bilateral cooperation in the civilian maritime sector, focusing on cooperation in shipbuilding, port infrastructure and maritime logistics. Delo was also part of a delegation that held talks with government officials last month. The talks will gain further traction during Putin’s official visit to India later this week.
Strengthening shipbuilding
Under Vision 2047, India aims to build a strong shipbuilding ecosystem with adequate infrastructure and policy makers to become a leader in the shipbuilding, repair and recycling industry. The policy measures followed by other key shipbuilding states indicate that each country has sought a combination of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to support the development and growth of the shipbuilding industry. Similar incentives are to be introduced in Indian industry to keep pace with leading nations, the vision paper said.
According to Mordor Intelligence, the size of the global shipbuilding market is estimated at USD 157 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 199 billion by 2030. A September report by the Directorate General of Shipping in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways suggests that India’s share of global markets is only about 1%. Under the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, the Ministry is focusing on value investments ₹80 trillion to increase India’s share of global shipbuilding to 5% by 2030 and achieve the goal of being among the top five shipbuilding nations in the world by 2047.
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In ship recycling, India is one of the market leaders with around 25% share of the global market, according to a report by the Directorate General of Shipping published in September. However, there is growing potential competition from countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan due to higher yield and limited compliance.
Russia’s efforts to boost energy partnerships and supplies to India have also helped those talks, a third official said. Although US sanctions against two of Russia’s largest oil suppliers, Rosneft and Lukoil, have affected oil imports from India in recent weeks, Russia is still the largest supplier. As of FY23, Russian crude constitutes 30-35% of the total basket imported into India.
India’s ambitious maritime plans have seen state-run companies eyeing global ties. Mint recently reported that a joint venture between Shipping Corporation of India, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd is in talks with major shipbuilding companies in South Korea, including Hawnha Ocean, HD Hyundai and Samsung Heavy Industries.
