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New Delhi, August 11, 2025: Parliament has passed the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025 as the Rajya Sabha approved the bill today.
The Merchant Shipping Bill is a landmark legislation aimed at modernising India’s maritime framework, aligning domestic laws with international best practices and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) conventions, ensuring that India’s maritime sector remains equipped, ready and relevant to the contemporary and future challenges, official sources said.
The bill was presented for consideration by the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), Sarbananda Sonowal in the Rajya Sabha, as the bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 6 during the ongoing session.
“This Bill marks a transformative shift from a regulatory-heavy approach to an enabling policy environment that will boost investor confidence, enhance safety standards, protect our marine ecosystem, and strengthen India’s position as a maritime power,” Minister Sonowal said.
“It incorporates global best practices, reduces compliance burdens, and ensures comprehensive adoption of our international commitments — all of which will catalyse growth and sustainability in the sector.
Led by the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bill replaced an “outdated, bulky framework with a progressive, streamlined law that will boost India’s bankability as a maritime hub, increase tonnage under our flag, reduce compliance burden and secure our coastline,” he said.
Replacing the bulky and outdated Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, which had 561 sections, the new Bill offers a streamlined framework of 16 parts and 325 clauses. It ensures comprehensive adoption of India’s obligations under major international conventions, reduces compliance burdens to improve ease of doing business, enhances safety in navigation and life at sea, safeguards the marine environment, strengthens emergency preparedness and salvage operations, boosts tonnage under the Indian flag, and protects India’s coastline and maritime interests.
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