After 67 years, India has charted a new course to reshape the nation’s maritime future with a modernised Merchant Shipping Act, 2025 (2025 Act). Following a decade-long legislative process that began in 2015, the Act was passed during the Parliament’s 2025 Monsoon Session. On August 18 it received the assent of the President of India, formally becoming a law. However, it will come into force only upon an official government notification, after which it will replace the existing Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (1958 Act).

Merchant shipping is the backbone of global trade, and India relies on the shipping sector for approximately 95 per cent of its international trade by volume. In 2021, India launched the Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 — India’s decade-long strategy for a safe, sustainable,

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