'India has 500 vessels vs China’s 5,000': Vedanta's Anil Agarwal sounds alarm on shipping

Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal has called for an urgent revival of India’s shipping industry, warning that the nation is falling far behind China in global maritime dominance. “Did you know that while China has over 5,000 large ships in its commercial fleet, India has less than 500?” Agarwal posted on X, highlighting a startling gap in commercial shipping capacity.

He noted that international trade is “totally dominated by Chinese vessels,” pointing out that “98% of the world’s commercial fleet is run by companies that are either Chinese or use Chinese-manufactured ships.”

India, by contrast, is “surrounded by sea on three sides” and has a “glorious history as a maritime nation,” Agarwal said. He urged collective effort: “There should be no difference between public and private sector. All are one in this goal. To use a phrase from shipping, our strategic interests need all hands on deck.”

While Agarwal’s figures dramatize China’s control over global trade lanes, official data paints a more nuanced picture. As of January 2024, China controls around 19% of the global commercial fleet. But its shipbuilding dominance is undisputed—with a global market share that’s grown from under 5% in 1999 to over 50% in 2023. The country also manufactures 95% of the world’s shipping containers and 86% of intermodal chassis.

India, meanwhile, ranks 16th in global maritime strength and has ambitions to break into the top 10 shipbuilding nations by 2030—and the top 5 by 2047. Its ports handle 95% of trade by volume and 70% by value. Cargo traffic at Indian ports rose to 819.22 million tonnes in FY2024, a 4.45% annual increase.

To close the gap, India is rolling out a series of initiatives: the Bharat Container Shipping Line, a coastal green shipping corridor (Kandla–Tuticorin), ₹100 crore investments in inland waterways, and 150 key projects under the Ministry of Ports by September 2025. The Sagarmala Startup and Innovation Initiative has also been launched to fuel maritime entrepreneurship.