India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will join a new shipping joint venture alongside the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and several public sector oil companies to build and operate a fleet of vessels for domestic energy logistics.
Under the revised arrangement, SCI will hold a 50 percent stake in the JV, maintaining its majority position, while the Sagarmala Finance Corporation will take a 10 percent share through the Maritime Development Fund. ONGC’s inclusion will lead to a rebalancing of the remaining 40 percent equity previously allocated among the oil firms.
The newly configured company plans to invest up to ₹15,000 crore over five years to acquire around 59 ships. These vessels are expected to include a mix of very large crude carriers, gas carriers, Suezmax and Aframax tankers, medium-range tankers, and offshore support ships. A portion of the fleet will be sourced secondhand, while others will be built at Indian shipyards, aligning with the government’s focus on domestic shipbuilding.
In the vessel allocation plan, ONGC has signaled the largest requirement, needing 28 ships. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) follows with a requirement for 10 vessels, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) with seven, while Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) each expect six. The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) anticipates using two ships.
The JV aims to secure long-term cargo commitments directly from state oil companies. It also intends to adopt a pricing structure for freight and charter rates linked to relevant market indices for oil and gas segments, adjusted by a fair “plus-minus” formula to reflect market conditions.
In a related development, ONGC recently entered a separate partnership with Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) to jointly own and operate two very large ethane carriers under Indian registry. These vessels are planned to transport ethane from the United States to feed ONGC’s petrochemical unit, reinforcing the company’s broader strategy to expand its presence in specialised shipping and energy logistics.