{"id":50753,"date":"2025-08-07T18:48:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T13:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=50753"},"modified":"2025-08-07T19:20:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T13:50:02","slug":"modernise-shipping-law-bills-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/07-08-2025\/modernise-shipping-law-bills-india","title":{"rendered":"Bills to Modernise India\u2019s Shipping Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Government Policy &amp; Intervention<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, the Parliament of India has passed the <strong>\u2018Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025\u2019 <\/strong>and the <strong>\u2018Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025\u2019<\/strong> to overhaul India&#8217;s maritime legal framework.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Highlights of the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025 (replacing the 1958 Act)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Expanded Definition of Vessels:<\/strong> The Bill broadens the definition of &#8220;vessels&#8221; to include a wider range of marine craft, such as mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs), submersibles, and non-displacement crafts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mandatory and Temporary Registration:<\/strong> The 2025 Bill makes vessel registration mandatory for all vessels, regardless of their propulsion type or weight. It also introduces a new provision for temporary registration, specifically for vessels intended for recycling, which helps streamline operations at ship recycling hubs like Alang.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Relaxed Ownership Criteria: <\/strong>It allows for partial ownership by Indian citizens, entities registered under Indian law, registered cooperative societies, and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs). The previous law required 100% Indian ownership.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enhanced Seafarer Welfare:<\/strong> The Bill expands welfare provisions to cover Indian seafarers working on foreign-flagged vessels, a group that was previously excluded.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strengthened Pollution Control<\/strong>: While the 1958 Act had some provisions, the 2025 Bill fully incorporates international conventions like MARPOL to prevent and combat marine pollution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Governance and Regulatory Changes: <\/strong>The Bill renames the Director-General of Shipping to the Director-General of Marine Administration. This official is also given the authority to regulate maritime education and training.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Highlights of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025 (replacing the 1925 Act)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Adopts Hague-Visby Rules (1924):<\/strong> The new Bill <strong>adopts the Hague-Visby Rules <\/strong><em>(cargo movement laws<\/em>), a more modern and globally accepted framework.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Central Government Role: <\/strong>The government can issue directions and amend rules related to Bills of Lading \u2014 documents detailing goods carried by sea, their condition, and destination.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Promote Ease of Doing Business:<\/strong> It simplifies legal language, reduces litigation risks, and improves transparency and efficiency in cargo movement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Understanding the Hague-Visby Rules<\/strong><br>&#8211; These are a set of internationally recognized legal standards that govern the carriage of goods by sea.<br>&#8211; It was adopted as amendments to the original Hague Rules of 1924, they form the backbone of cargo liability law in many countries, including India.<br><strong>Origin and Evolution<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Hague Rules (1924):<\/strong> Established basic responsibilities and liabilities of carriers.<br>&#8211; <strong>Hague-Visby Protocol (1968):<\/strong> Updated provisions to reflect modern shipping practices.<br>&#8211; <strong>SDR Protocol (1979):<\/strong> Introduced standardized compensation limits using Special Drawing Rights.<br><strong>Why did India adopt the Hague-Visby Rules?<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Global Alignment:<\/strong> These rules are widely accepted in international shipping, including by the UK and EU.<br>&#8211; <strong>Legal Clarity:<\/strong> They simplify cargo liability, reducing litigation and ambiguity.<br>&#8211; <strong>Trade Facilitation:<\/strong> Enhances trust and transparency for exporters, insurers, and carriers.<br>&#8211; <strong>Parliamentary Oversight:<\/strong> India\u2019s new law ensures executive actions under these rules are subject to legislative review.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Implications for India\u2019s Maritime Future<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These two bills are not just legal updates \u2014 they represent a strategic repositioning of India as a global maritime leader.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By aligning with international norms and streamlining governance, the Bills are expected to:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Boost investment and innovation in the maritime sector.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhance India\u2019s competitiveness in global shipping.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Support trade commitments under agreements like the <strong>Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)<\/strong> with the UK.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/parliament-passes-the-carriage-of-goods-by-sea-bill-2025\/article69900928.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context <\/strong><\/h2>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Recently, the Parliament of India has passed the \u2018Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025\u2019 and the \u2018Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025\u2019 to overhaul India&#8217;s maritime legal framework.\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Key Highlights of the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025 (replacing the 1958 Act)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Expanded Definition of Vessels: The Bill broadens the definition of &#8220;vessels&#8221; to include a wider range of marine craft, such as mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs), submersibles, and non-displacement crafts.\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Mandatory and Temporary Registration: The 2025 Bill makes vessel registration mandatory for all vessels, regardless of their propulsion type or weight. It also introduces a new provision for temporary registration, specifically for vessels intended for recycling, which helps streamline operations at ship recycling hubs like Alang.\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/07-08-2025\/modernise-shipping-law-bills-india\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":50789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/modernise-shipping-law-bills-india.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50753"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50764,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50753\/revisions\/50764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}