French shipping company CMA CGM launches vessel under Indian flag

First foreign firm to fly the Indian flag on its vessel

In a boost to India’s shipping ambitions, French shipping giant CMA CGM has launched a vessel under the Indian flag, Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Monday.

 

It comes on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the CMA CGM headquarters in France in February.

 

“Today marks an important step forward for India’s maritime sector as CMA-CGM Vitoria becomes the first Indian-flagged container vessel registered by a foreign shipping line and to be flagged off from Mumbai today,” the minister was quoted as saying by his office.

 

“We are working constantly to expand the Indian flagged vessels fleet to strengthen our position in global trade, building resilience, ensuring stability in supply chains and creating opportunities for the Indian marine sector,” the minister said.

 

According to sources, the vessel had been operating under the Maltese flag so far. India has not been a preferred destination for registration of ships (which is different from shipbuilding) and the country has very little control over the movement of its own goods.

 

To solve this, the government wants to build a favourable regime for ship owning so that foreign firms register their ships in India.

 

The CMA CGM Vitoria -- a 26,836 GT vessel with a capacity of 2,592 TEUs -- will operate under the BIGEX Network, boosting direct maritime connectivity between India, the Gulf, and the Red Sea, with regular calls at Nhava Sheva and Mundra. 

 

“This registration also marks CMA CGM’s entry into the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City, Gujarat, another first for a global shipping major,” Sonowal’s office said.

 

“Following it (Modi’s visit) up, the discussions during Singapore Maritime Week 2025, the Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal further called for collaboration and cooperation on shipbuilding, logistics, and container manufacturing. With a modern fleet and strategic hubs across India, the UAE, and the Mediterranean, CMA CGM is set to play a key role in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and support India’s growing leadership in global shipping,” it said.