Marine Engineer Mohanraju Muppala
Enterprising marine engineer Mohanraju Muppala, who has played a key role in introducing digital connectivity for commercial vessels on the high seas, envisions Andhra Pradesh as an emerging “shipping and logistics hub”. He submitted a report to the state government to this effect.
Hailing from the small village of Chenchuraju Kandriga in Tirupati district, where he had never seen a bus as a child, the young man rose to fame nearly a decade ago when he led an IT team that introduced satellite communications on ships, bridging the gap between the crew and their families on land.
Mr. Mohanraju holds a degree in Marine Engineering and an MBA in Information Technology and Customer Service, which introduced him. When he joined Denmark-based Clipper Fleet Management in 2014, the maritime sector was largely dependent on mechanical processes and less on technology, and even the internet was rare on commercial vessels.
As head of IT at Vessel, he was involved in the implementation of IT infrastructure on 300 ships, covering IT policy and regulations, network technologies, satellite communications and ERP migration to cyber security.
Mr Mohanraju suggested the government to harness the state’s potential by building a “global transport hub” on par with Rotterdam, Hong Kong and Singapore, taking advantage of its long sea coast.
“Since Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu is interested in turning the state into a logistics and shipping hub, I have prepared a plan and submitted it to the state government, envisaging the creation of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) dedicated to international trade, warehousing and logistics,” he told The Hindu.
”The ZEZ can become a ‘duty-free zone’ where global shipping companies can store and transport their cargo without entering the Indian market, making it a global warehouse,” he explained in his report.
Published – 28 Nov 2025 20:47 IST
