MOL and SCI to collaborate on tugboat business in India

Japanese shipping player Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) have agreed to collaborate on the tugboat business in India.

The companies firmed up their intent by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on October 27 in Mumbai.

It is estimated that India’s economic growth will drive an annual increase of 6%-8% in container cargo and 3%-5% in energy cargo over the next decade, thus requiring additional tugboats to respond to a rise in the number of vessel calls.

Through this MoU, the partners aim to provide stable tugboat services in the country and support the safe berthing and unberthing of vessels.

India has already initiated the government-backed Green Tug Transition Program, seeking to gradually transition all tugboats operating at major ports to environmentally friendly ‘green tugs’ by 2040.

As part of this plan, India is expecting to welcome its ‘first-ever’ electric tugboat in the last quarter of 2026, upon which the unit is to operate at Deendayal Port in Gujarat.

So far, MOL has operated its tugboat business in Japan, Hong Kong, and Vietnam, and moving forward, it intends to leverage SCI’s network within India, along with its own accumulated expertise and technology in safe operations and alternative fuel-powered vessels, to expand its tugboat services in this region, while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ports.

India’s Green Tug Transition Program was formally launched in August 2024 by the Union Minister of Port Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), though it was initially announced in 2023. GTTP is described as a ‘pivotal’ part of the country’s ‘Panch Karma Sankalp’ initiative, which is focused on green shipping and digitalization.

The program, representing an investment of around $120.5 million, aims to transition harbor tugboats to zero- or low-emission vessels powered by clean technologies—including battery-electric, hybrid systems, methanol, green hydrogen, and ammonia. More specifically, the goal is to shift to 50% of zero-emission tug operations by 2030 and fully green operations by 2047.

In October 2024, classification society Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) teamed up with Singapore-based maritime engineering and design company SeaTech Solutions to work on the design and classification of next-generation green tugs and harbor crafts.

Just recently, the government approved a package encompassing a whopping ₹697.25 billion (approximately $7.86 billion) aimed at rejuvenating India’s shipbuilding and the overall maritime ecosystem.