Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) and Drydocks World, a DP World company, signed a 50:50 joint venture agreement on 11 September 2026 in New Delhi to operate and expand the International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) at Kochi in Kerala. The signing took place on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit 2026 in the presence of Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and UAE Assistant Foreign Minister Omran Sharaf Alhashimi. The venture is described as the first of its kind public private partnership in India’s ship repair sector and aims to turn Kochi into a global hub for ship repair.
What is Cochin Shipyard Limited?
Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) is a government owned shipbuilding and ship repair company under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, headquartered at Kochi in Kerala. CSL was incorporated in 1972 as a fully owned Government of India company and holds Miniratna Category I status since 2008.
CSL is a public sector undertaking (PSU), which means the government is its main owner and not a private company. The Government of India held about 72.86 percent of its shares after its initial public offer in 2017 and later Buyback. CSL works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW). Its main yard is at Perumanoor in Kochi, Kerala.
CSL was first planned in 1969, when survey teams selected Kochi for India’s first greenfield shipbuilding yard. A greenfield yard means a completely new facility built on unused land. The yard was built with technical help from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan, and the first phase of construction was completed by 1982. CSL started shipbuilding in 1978 and ship repair in 1981.
CSL is one of the few shipyards in India that works in both shipbuilding and ship repair, and in both commercial and defence orders. CSL can build ships up to 1,10,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) and repair ships up to 1,25,000 DWT. Deadweight tonnage is the total weight a ship can safely carry, including cargo, fuel and crew. CSL built INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier, which made India the fifth nation in the world able to build an aircraft carrier of this size. CSL has also exported more than 40 to 45 ships to clients in Abu Dhabi, Bahamas, Netherlands and Norway.
Where is Cochin Located and Where is the ISRF?
Cochin, now called Kochi, is a port city in Ernakulam district of Kerala on the southwest coast of India. The ISRF is located on the western side of the Mattancherry channel at Willingdon Island, Kochi, on land leased from the Cochin Port Authority.
Cochin is in the state of Kerala. It lies on the Arabian Sea, Laccadive Sea and Indian Ocean sea route, which makes it close to busy international shipping lanes between the Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia. The Cochin Port, which opened in 1928, is one of India’s 12 major ports. It is owned by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and operates from two islands in Vembanadu Lake, Willingdon Island and Vallarpadam.
Willingdon Island is an artificial island created during harbour construction in the 1920s and 1930s. It houses port offices, the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam, which is India’s first transshipment terminal, and now the ISRF. This location gives the repair facility direct access to deep water channels and to vessels passing along India’s west coast, so ships do not need to travel to Dubai, Singapore or Colombo for major repairs.
What Exactly Was Signed Under the CSL Drydocks World JV?
Cochin Shipyard Limited and Drydocks World signed a joint venture agreement on 11 September 2026 to jointly operate, consolidate and expand the International Ship Repair Facility at Kochi for Indian, regional and international customers. Drydocks World and CSL will each hold a 50 percent stake, with initial capital funded through equal equity contributions.
A joint venture means two companies form a new shared business and share its ownership, risks and profits. In this case, the new entity is named the Cochin Dubai International Ship Repair Facility. The agreement was signed by Captain Rado Antolovic, Chief Executive Officer of Drydocks World, and Jose V J, Chairman and Managing Director of CSL. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and UAE Assistant Foreign Minister Omran Sharaf Alhashimi were present at the signing.
The pact builds on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed during India Maritime Week 2025, under which both sides agreed to explore ship repair and allied maritime services. An MoU is a written statement of intent to work together, while a joint venture agreement is a binding business contract. The Ministry has called this India’s first public private partnership of its kind in ship repair, because a central public sector yard and a global private operator are sharing ownership equally.
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date of signing | 11 September 2026 |
| Venue | Sidelines of BRICS Summit 2026, New Delhi |
| Partners | Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) and Drydocks World (DP World company) |
| Shareholding | 50 percent CSL, 50 percent Drydocks World |
| Facility covered | International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF), Willingdon Island, Kochi |
| Earlier step | MoU during India Maritime Week 2025 |
| Initial funding | Equity contributions from both partners |
Who is Drydocks World and What is Its Link to DP World?
Drydocks World is a Dubai based marine and offshore services company that provides ship repair, vessel conversion and offshore fabrication, and it became part of the DP World group in 2018. DP World is a UAE based global logistics company that operates ports and terminals worldwide, including container terminals in India such as those at Cochin and Nhava Sheva.
Drydocks World was established in 1983 by the decree of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its main yard in Dubai covers about 1 million square metres with three graving docks, a floating dock and more than 3,700 metres of berth space. A graving dock is a narrow basin that can be drained to expose a ship for repair below the waterline. The company states that it has completed more than 9,000 ship repair, maintenance and upgrade projects over four decades and handles more than 300 projects per year.
DP World, the parent group, is headquartered in Dubai, UAE. It manages ports, container terminals and logistics parks across continents. In India, DP World India operates terminals in Kochi, Mumbai, Mundra, Chennai and other locations. Drydocks World brings global experience in high end vessel repair, major conversions of tankers into floating production storage units, and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for offshore platforms. EPC means one contractor handles design, purchase of materials and building of the project. CSL brings local engineering talent, skilled workers and knowledge of Indian naval and commercial orders. The combination is meant to cut repair time and bring global safety and quality practices to Kochi.
What is the International Ship Repair Facility at Kochi?
ISRF stands for International Ship Repair Facility, a modern ship repair complex at Willingdon Island in Kochi developed by Cochin Shipyard on 42 acres of land taken on a 30 year lease from the Cochin Port. The ISRF uses a 6,000 tonne ship lift and transfer system with six workstations and about 1,500 metres of outfitting berth to lift and repair ships.
A ship lift is a platform that lifts a vessel out of water so workers can repair its hull, while workstations are dry areas where ships stand for repair. The ISRF can handle ships up to 130 metres long and 25 metres wide with a weight of up to 6,000 tonnes. The total project cost is about ₹970 crore, and it is part of a larger ₹2,768 crore expansion that also includes a new 310 metre dry dock at CSL’s main premises.
The ship lift facility and two workstations were inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 17 January 2024. At present the ISRF has six workstations. Under the joint venture, the capacity will first aim to repair more than 80 vessels per year and the number of workstations will grow from 6 to 16. This will allow the facility to service a wider mix of vessels, including tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, naval vessels, coast guard ships, fishing vessels and offshore support vessels. The facility is fitted with modern docking systems that reduce the time ships spend out of service, which is critical because ship owners lose income for every idle day.
Why the Joint Venture Matters for Indian Shipbuilding and Ship Repair
India’s shipbuilding industry holds less than 1 percent of the global market and ranks beyond 20th place in shipbuilding, while it ranks second in ship recycling. Ship recycling means breaking old ships to reuse steel, while ship repair means fixing and maintaining working ships. India currently sends a large share of its vessels abroad for repair, which costs foreign exchange. The CSL Drydocks World venture aims to keep that business in India and attract regional and global fleets passing through the Indian Ocean.
For Kochi and Kerala, the joint venture is expected to strengthen Kochi as a maritime services hub and create work across ship repair, engineering, fabrication and allied services. Allied services include painting, welding, electrical fitting, supply of spares and quality testing. The partnership will generate high skilled jobs, train Indian workers in global practices and support small suppliers around the port. The Shipping Secretary has said that the CSL model, if successful, will be repeated at other locations along India’s 7,500 kilometre coastline, including ship repair clusters such as Vadinar in Gujarat.
For India and the UAE, the venture reflects the wider growth in maritime trade between the two countries. Indian officials have linked the project to centuries of trade links and to the partnership between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The UAE gets a foothold in India’s fast growing ship repair market, while India gains technology, global clients and foreign investment. The venture will also help India save foreign exchange, earn from foreign ships and build self reliance in maintaining its naval and commercial fleet.
Cochin Shipyard vs Mazagon Dock vs Garden Reach Shipbuilders
India’s three leading public sector shipyards are often compared for their roles in defence and commercial orders. Cochin Shipyard Limited focuses on both commercial ships and defence vessels, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited focuses mainly on submarines and destroyers, and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) focuses mainly on warships for the Navy and Coast Guard.
Cochin Shipyard is headquartered at Kochi, Kerala and works under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) is headquartered at Mumbai, Maharashtra and works under the Ministry of Defence. It was established in 1934 and builds destroyers, frigates and Scorpene class submarines. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), headquartered at Kolkata, West Bengal, also works under the Ministry of Defence and was founded in 1884 as a small repair unit. It builds frigates, corvettes and patrol vessels, including anti submarine warfare shallow water craft.
| Shipyard | Location and Ministry | Core Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) | Kochi, Kerala, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways | Largest commercial plus defence yard, builder of INS Vikrant, leader in ship repair through ISRF |
| Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) | Mumbai, Maharashtra, Ministry of Defence | Leading builder of destroyers, frigates and submarines for the Navy |
| Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) | Kolkata, West Bengal, Ministry of Defence | Specialist in frigates, corvettes and patrol vessels, strong in eastern naval orders |
The comparison shows why the Kochi venture is distinct. While Mazagon Dock and Garden Reach concentrate on warship building, the CSL Drydocks World venture targets the commercial repair market and international customers. This fills a gap in India’s maritime industry, where repair capacity has lagged behind building capacity.
How the JV Fits Into Maritime India Vision 2030 and Amrit Kaal Vision 2047
Maritime India Vision 2030 (MIV 2030) is the central government’s ten year roadmap for ports, shipping and waterways, launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 (MAKV 2047) is its longer extension till 2047, launched at the Global Maritime India Summit 2023, with an investment plan of about ₹80 lakh crore and more than 300 initiatives.
Both visions set clear rank targets for shipbuilding and ship repair. MIV 2030 aims to lift India from beyond 20th place into the top 10 shipbuilding nations by 2030. MAKV 2047 aims to reach the top 5 by 2047. Other targets include handling 3,500 million tonnes of port capacity, raising the share of Indian seafarers and increasing renewable energy use at major ports to over 60 percent.
The government supports these goals through the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy, which gives financial aid to Indian yards, the Right of First Refusal (ROFR) for Indian built ships in chartering, infrastructure status for shipyards and plans for four shipbuilding and repair clusters. Five shipbuilding clusters have already received in principle approval. Officials have said global firms, including HD Hyundai of South Korea in Tamil Nadu, Fincantieri of Italy and IHC of Netherlands, have shown interest in Indian projects. The CSL Drydocks World venture is presented as a model for these clusters, because it brings foreign capital, technology and assured global orders to an Indian facility.
The Way Forward
The immediate task for the Cochin Dubai International Ship Repair Facility is to consolidate operations at Willingdon Island and expand from 6 to 16 workstations. The joint venture will need to complete staffing, align safety and quality systems between CSL and Drydocks World, and market Kochi slots to Indian, regional and global fleet owners. Success in the first phase, targeted at more than 80 vessel repairs per year, will decide how fast the partners add capacity for larger tankers, container ships and offshore vessels.
In the medium term, the Shipping Ministry wants to use the Kochi model at other coastal sites. The Secretary of the Ministry has said the venture is replicable across India’s coastline for ship repair and conversion hubs. If Kochi proves that equal partnership can cut turnaround time and meet global standards, similar pacts could come up near major ports and new clusters. For Kochi, the test will be steady power and supply chains, skilled manpower and clear timelines, so that ship owners choose Kochi over established yards in the Gulf and Southeast Asia.
Key Takeaways
- CSL and Drydocks World signed a 50:50 joint venture on 11 September 2026 to operate and expand the ISRF at Kochi.
- The ISRF stands for International Ship Repair Facility and is located at Willingdon Island, Kochi, Kerala on Cochin Port land.
- The ISRF uses a 6,000 tonne ship lift for ships up to 130 metres long and will expand from 6 to 16 workstations.
- Cochin Shipyard Limited, incorporated in 1972 under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, is a Miniratna Category I PSU.
- Drydocks World, established in 1983 in Dubai, became part of DP World in 2018 and has completed over 9,000 repair projects.
- The JV supports Maritime India Vision 2030, which targets the top 10 rank by 2030, and Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, which targets the top 5 rank by 2047.
