Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launches advanced machinery and green tug programme at Cochin Shipyard.
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, unveiled advanced shipbuilding machinery at Cochin Shipyard (CSL), reinforcing India’s push for maritime self-reliance under the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision. He inaugurated the Industry 4.0-ready ProArc CNC Plasma Cum Oxy Fuel Plate Cutting Machine, enhancing real-time production monitoring and efficiency under the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy (SBFAP) 2.0.
Presiding over the steel-cutting ceremony of two hybrid Green Tugs under the Green Tug Transition Programme (GTTP), the Minister announced India’s first indigenously built electric propulsion tugs, with 16 planned across major ports. This initiative, in collaboration with Robert Allan Ltd. and the Indian Register of Shipping, aims to spearhead India’s green maritime transition.
He also reviewed construction progress of India’s largest Trailer Suction Hopper Dredger, a 12,000 cu.m vessel being built in partnership with IHC Holland for the Dredging Corporation of India—positioned as a strategic national asset.
Praising CSL’s legacy—from INS Vikrant to 2,500+ ship repairs—Sonowal lauded its innovation-led programmes like USHUS Marine Startups and workforce skilling partnerships with Maersk and ASAP Kerala.
With recent policy boosts including the ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund and revised SBFAP 2.0, and new bills streamlining coastal and merchant shipping laws, Sonowal emphasized this as a transformative phase for India’s maritime sector, firmly anchored in the Maritime Amritkaal Vision 2047.
Source: PIB
