The calm waters of the Arabian Sea belie a fierce, two-year struggle shaping the future of India’s maritime industry. At its heart is the Directorate General of Shipping’s (DGS) Order 06 of 2023 on vessel age norms, a measure intended to modernise the fleet but which has ignited a firestorm of opposition led by the International Maritime Federation (IMF). This is the story of a protracted campaign by ship owners and operators fighting to save their livelihoods against a seemingly immovable government mandate.
The Edict and the Uproar
The DGS Order 06 of 2023, initially issued in February 2023, set new, stringent age limits and qualitative parameters for Indian flag vessels and foreign flag vessels operating in Indian waters. Its stated goal was to promote quality tonnage, enhance safety, and align with global efforts to phase out older, fossil fuel-dependent ships.
But for the IMF and its members, the order landed like a thunderbolt. The initial shock stemmed from what they called an “arbitrary” decision, made without adequate stakeholder consultation. The immediate reaction was a call to action, culminating in a major industry conference hosted by the IMF in Mumbai on May 5, 2023.
A Coalition of Resistance
The conference served as a powerful declaration of resistance. Industry stalwarts—including ship owners, managers, and recruiters—stood in strong opposition. Their collective voice demanded that the order be revised, kept in abeyance, or granted a lead time of at least five years, particularly for the vital domestic and coastal shipping sectors.
The core argument put forth by the IMF and its allies challenged the DGS’s central premise:
- Age is not the determinant of safety. Independent studies, including analyses of Port State Control (PSC) inspections and reports from Classification Societies like DNV, indicated that age was not found to be a factor for rejecting older, yet well-maintained vessels. Some reports even showed a trend where vessels that have ‘survived’ longer are proven to be of quality.
- The order ignores performance and qualitative parameters. The true measure of a ship’s worth lies in its performance, reliability, and safety record—not simply its age. The order, they argued, went against IMO guidelines by focusing solely on age.
- Economic Devastation: The IMF repeatedly warned of significant repercussions for the national economy. The new norms would mean a higher capital outlay for small owners acquiring younger tonnage, leading to revenue loss for the government and, critically, the loss of over 10,000 jobs, both ashore and afloat. They stressed that barring older Indian flag vessels put the nation at a disadvantage against foreign counterparts who would compete with cheaper, older tonnage, resulting in a “huge drain of revenue” from India.
The Protracted Campaign
Following the May conference, the IMF escalated its efforts, dispatching multiple official representations to the Director General of Shipping and the Secretary of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways on dates including May 23, 2023, June 29, 2023, and August 2, 2023.
The pressure yielded a minor victory in July 2023 with the issuance of Corrigendum-I to the DGS Order. This amendment acknowledged the difficulty faced by stakeholders and provided exemptions for highly specialised vessels and more time for new acquisitions to comply with qualitative norms like CAP ratings.
Crucially, the DGS announced the appointment of IIM Indore as an independent agency to conduct a holistic study on age norms. This marked a shift from decree to deliberation.
The IIM Report and Ongoing Questions
Meetings continued throughout 2024 and 2025, with the IMF consistently representing the industry’s concerns. However, the anticipated clarity from the IIM Indore report proved to be another point of contention.
In a meeting with stakeholders on August 26, 2025, where IIM Indore presented its survey findings, the IMF noted that the report “was not found made with full and correct data,” and its credentials remained “in question.”
Despite this, the draft of a proposed amendment order, published for consultation in late 2025, revealed that the DGS had considered the IIM report’s recommendations—which, while supporting the entry age criteria, also advised relaxations and a staggered exit age for existing vessels. This draft offered a conditional reprieve, allowing existing vessels to operate until March 31, 2029, with a possible extension subject to compliance with a new ‘Sustainability Indexing of Ships.’
The struggle is far from over. The IMF’s campaign highlights a pivotal question for India’s maritime future: can the government achieve its goal of fleet modernization and green transition without sacrificing the small and coastal shipping operators who are the backbone of the domestic supply chain? The federation continues its work, fighting for a policy that truly balances global aspirations with national interests.
Marex Media