According to reports from Press Trust of India (PTI) and Rediff Moneynews, Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) received orders to build over 40 ships from foreign countries including the US, Germany, and Norway. Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced this development during the second day of the 3rd 'Sagarmanthan—The Ocean Dialogue' event on Thursday. The minister emphasized that most of these orders are specifically for Cochin Shipyard Limited, reflecting the company's growing international credibility in shipbuilding. As per Rediff Moneynews, Sonowal addressed a press conference highlighting that the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is creating a comfortable ecosystem for shipbuilding, stating that most of the orders we are receiving for shipbuilding are for Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) from foreign countries like Germany, America, and Norway. However, CSL has clarified that these 40 orders from across the globe were already part of the existing order book.
CSL is planning significant expansion with ₹6,000 crore investments across two major projects. The company will invest around ₹4,000 crore in a steel block fabrication facility at Vallarpadam in Kochi for construction of larger vessels, while separately exploring an investment of around ₹2,000 crore at V O Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi to expand shipbuilding and repair capacity. According to Business Standard, CSL Chairman and Managing Director Jose V J explained that the steel block fabrication facility is necessary as current steel throughput is insufficient for new infrastructure requirements. The company plans to lease around 78 acres — 60 acres from Cochin Port and approximately 18 acres from the Kerala government for the Vallarpadam project.
In a significant development, Cochin Shipyard's wholly owned subsidiary Hooghly Cochin Shipyard Limited (Hooghly-CSL) has secured a notable repeat order from Heritage River Journeys Private Limited to build two luxury river cruise vessels. According to the company's exchange filing, the order is valued between ₹100 crore and ₹250 crore and has been classified as a notable order by the company. The two vessels are expected to be delivered by June 2029 and June 2030 respectively. This represents a repeat order from Heritage River Journeys, which had previously placed an order with Hooghly-CSL in June 2025. The company confirmed that neither its promoters, promoter group, nor group companies have any interest in the entity awarding the contract, and the order does not fall under related-party transactions.
CSL's order book has reached a record ₹22,300 crore as of Friday, with shipbuilding accounting for ₹21,100 crore and ship repair for ₹1,200 crore. According to Business Standard, the company has emerged as L1 in a competitive bid for five Next Generation Survey Vessels (NGSVs) for the Indian Navy with an order value of around ₹5,000 crore. Once the formal contract is signed, the total order book will reach ₹27,300 crore. Of this projected ₹27,000 crore, around ₹17,000 crore will be defence, ₹1,700 crore will be commercial domestic and ₹7,300 crore will be commercial exports. Europe remains the main export market, particularly Germany and Norway, as confirmed by CSL leadership.
A senior shipping ministry official indicated that some Russian entities have also shown interest in building ships in India, in collaboration with Indian shipyards including Cochin Shipyard. Minister Sonowal highlighted that Indian shipbuilders are earning credibility globally, with the number of orders received demonstrating how India could generate confidence about its quality production and capacity building capabilities. According to Rediff Moneynews, the minister noted that Indian shipbuilders are earning credibility globally, with the number of orders received demonstrating how India could generate confidence about its quality production, about its capacity building. The government has also been pursuing international partnerships in maritime infrastructure, shipbuilding and green shipping, with India holding discussions at the third Sagarmanthan – The Ocean Dialogue with Saudi Arabia, Belgium and Bhutan on port investments, green shipping and regional connectivity.
