DP World’s Marine Services arm, Shipping Solutions, has grown its Indian coastal fleet with the acquisition of DP World Indus, a container vessel with capacity for more than 2,500 TEUs.
The vessel made its maiden call at Jeddah South Container Terminal, a facility operated by DP World, a move the company says reflects its strategy to tie its ports and marine services businesses more closely together.
DP World Indus will operate along India’s coastline, moving cargo between the country’s ports and easing pressure on road transport. Shipping Solutions’ Indian coastal network now spans 14 ports with a dedicated fleet of 10 vessels, which handled more than 473,000 TEUs in 2025.
Ganesh Raj, Global Chief Operating Officer, Marine Services, DP World, said: “India’s coastal shipping sector presents a significant opportunity to improve supply chain efficiency and support sustainable economic growth. We documented this opportunity gap in our ‘Enhancing India’s Ship Registry: Pathways to Global Competitiveness’ report in 2025, and the acquisition of India-flagged DP World Indus, reflects our commitment to strengthening domestic maritime connectivity and providing customers with reliable, high-quality services that connect businesses and markets across the country.”
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The addition supports connectivity between India’s manufacturing, industrial and consumption hubs, with the company positioning coastal shipping as a dependable alternative to long-haul road transport for container cargo.
The deployment follows DP World’s report, ‘Enhancing India’s Ship Registry: Pathways to Global Competitiveness’, which sets out recommendations on governance reform, fiscal and commercial incentives, international outreach and green transition measures, aimed at aligning India’s ship registry with the Government’s Maritime Vision 2030.
Last year, Shipping Solutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited (SMFC), an enterprise under India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, to develop coastal and shortsea shipping services across the country.
For terminal operators, the move underlines a continued push by major port groups to integrate vessel operations into wider infrastructure networks, as India looks to divert cargo away from congested road corridors toward sea-based alternatives, with knock-on implications for berth planning and feeder scheduling at the ports involved.
For more information:
DP World – https://www.dpworld.com/en
