FRENCH shipping giant CMA CGM has held talks with officials from the Indian Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) regarding maritime transport, shipbuilding, container terminals, multimodal logistics, and maritime industrial opportunities in the Southeast Asian nation.

According to MoPSW, the discussions were held during the government branch's official visit to CMA CGM's headquarters in Marseille on June 12, writes Rotterdam's Offshore Energy.



The development comes just months after the company, together with Switzerland's MSC and Denmark's Maersk, announced plans to 'strengthen' its foothold in the Indian market, with plans to seek various investment (and growth) opportunities in the region.



Concerning shipbuilding efforts in India, the ministry said that the CMA CGM Group has expressed interest in 'advancing' the discussions with the nation's entities for the construction of containerships powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).



Moreover, the French shipping player is reportedly eyeing the Indian ship recycling ecosystem, particularly in Alang.



As part of this vision, it is understood that CMA CGM is to source containers and green steel from India, in line with worldwide sustainability goals.



Joint port and infrastructure investments have also been progressing, including a US$200 million expansion at the Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal, where CMA CGM welcomed the arrival of what was hailed as "the first India-flagged box ship", the CMA CGM Vitoria.



The ministry noted that the Group has also established a new shipping entity at GIFT City in Gujarat.



In January this year, South Korea's HMM, one of the largest maritime transportation players in the container segment in the world, inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) to collaborate on developing Vadhavan Port.



Dutch shipbuilder Damen has also eyed collaboration opportunities in India. In late April this year, Square Port Shipyard and Damen Technical Cooperation (DTC) signed an MoU to develop a shipyard that will construct a range of Damen vessels to meet the needs of the regional market.