State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) has amended the terms of its global tender for building four platform supply vessels (PSVs) to include a Right of First Refusal (RoFR) provision that supports Indian shipbuilders in competing with foreign yards.
Under the revised clause, qualified Indian shipyards participating in the global tender will have the opportunity to match the lowest evaluated bid submitted by a foreign shipyard. ONGC’s commercial amendment, issued on February 5, states that if the lowest-evaluated Indian bidder is unable to match the lowest foreign bid, the next highest Indian bidder will be given a chance to exercise the RoFR. This mechanism is intended to give domestic yards a competitive edge in securing contracts under global bidding conditions.
The tender covers the construction of four PSVs in a project that could be worth over ₹1,000 crore. Local shipbuilders had earlier raised concerns that floating the contract as a global tender went against national objectives and the spirit of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, arguing that the vessel category falls within the “capacity and capability” of small and medium Indian yards. Industry representatives had urged ONGC to amend the tender to prioritise Indian bidders, citing government guidelines on RoFR for vessel acquisition.
The RoFR clause aligns with policy guidelines issued by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways in 2019, which advocate for offering Indian shipyards the chance to match competitive foreign offers in tenders issued by government agencies and public sector undertakings.
Despite introducing the RoFR provision, ONGC has not acceded to several other demands from local yards, including calls to relax the earnest money deposit, performance bank guarantee, and the ₹175 crore turnover threshold specified in the tender. The company also did not agree to ease restrictions on importing certain critical equipment for ship construction from countries sharing a land border with India, citing commercial interests.
ONGC’s move comes at a time when the government has renewed its focus on strengthening the Indian shipbuilding sector. Last year, a ₹69,725 crore package was approved by the Cabinet to support the industry, with the goal of making India one of the top 10 shipbuilding nations by 2030 and among the top five by 2047.
