The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has floated its largest-ever global shipbuilding tender, seeking bids for six cellular container vessels of 8,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) each, at an estimated cost of $720 million (approximately ₹6,858 crore). The tender marks a significant escalation in India's ambitions to expand its commercial shipping fleet and bolster domestic shipbuilding capacity.

Tender Structure and Vessel Breakdown

Of the six vessels covered under the tender, two are under firm orders while four are optional, according to analysis by Marine Insight. Each ship is a cellular container vessel — purpose-built with vertical guide rails and slots to stack standardised 20-foot and 40-foot containers securely, enabling high-density cargo operations on major trade lanes.

Right of First Refusal for Indian Shipyards

A key feature of the tender is a Right of First Refusal (RoFR) mechanism that gives eligible Indian shipyards priority access. The lowest-evaluated Indian bidder will be offered the opportunity to match the lowest foreign bid. If the first eligible Indian yard declines, the opportunity cascades to the next eligible domestic bidder. The provision is designed to encourage domestic shipbuilding while keeping Indian yards competitive against established international players.

Pathway for Inexperienced Indian Yards

Notably, Indian shipyards without prior experience in building cellular container vessels are also permitted to participate — provided they enter technical partnerships with qualified foreign shipbuilders. The foreign partner must have delivered at least two cellular container ships of 5,000 TEUs or more in the past 10 years, with those vessels currently in active service. The partner is also required to provide both basic and detailed design support throughout construction.

Government Backing Through SBFAS

Indian shipyards participating in the tender can additionally draw on the Centre's ₹24,736-crore Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS), which offers financial support of 15–25 per cent per vessel. The SBFAS is part of a broader ₹69,725-crore maritime package announced in 2025, aimed at narrowing the cost gap between Indian yards and their global counterparts — particularly South Korean and Chinese shipbuilders who dominate the large-container-vessel segment.

What This Signals for India's Shipping Sector

SCI's move comes as India pushes to reduce its dependence on foreign-flagged vessels for its own trade. Indian-flagged ships currently carry a fraction of the country's seaborne cargo, and fleet expansion at this scale is seen as a strategic step toward greater maritime self-reliance. The tender's outcome will also serve as an early stress test for the 2025 maritime package — whether the SBFAS subsidies and RoFR provisions are sufficient to make domestic yards commercially viable at the 8,000-TEU scale, a segment where Indian yards have little established track record.