DP World Acquires New Container Vessel To Expand India’s Coastal Shipping Network

DP World’s Marine Services business, Shipping Solutions, announced on Tuesday that it expanded its fleet by acquiring DP World Indus, a 2500+ TEU container ship to support coastal trade across India.

The addition of DP World Indus strengthens the company’s coastal shipping solutions in the country, enhancing its ability to offer reliable and sustainable cargo transport between Indian Ports.

DP World Indus would support rapid cargo movement via coastal shipping, and help reduce pressure on road networks, thus contributing to more responsible supply chains.

Shipping Solutions’ coastal network in India includes 14 ports and maintains a dedicated fleet of 10 ships.

In 2025, the company handled over 473,000 TEUs through its coastal shipping operations.

“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,” said Ganesh Raj, Global Chief Operating Officer, Marine Services, DP World.

Coastal Shipping is important to enhance multimodal transport networks, decreasing carbon emissions and improving cargo movement efficiency.

By boosting connectivity between India’s major manufacturing, industrial and consumption centers, DP World Indus will play a vital role in facilitating the movement of containers along the country’s coastline.

The acquisition of DP World Indus aligns with the company’s border strategy to support India’s trade and logistics ecosystem through continued investment in ports infrastructure, logistics and supply chain solutions.

DP World’s report, ‘Enhancing India’s Ship Registry: Pathways to Global Competitiveness’, provides a roadmap to strengthen India’s ship registry into a globally competitive, and sustainable platform, positioning the Indian flag into a symbol of trust and modern maritime excellence.

This measure will align with India’s Maritime Vision 2030, supporting the Indian Government’s ambition to position India as a global maritime leader.

In 2025, DP World’s Shipping Solutions also signed a MOU with Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited (SMFC), a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, to jointly develop and scale coastal and shortsea shipping services across the country.