INDIAN OIL MARKETING COMPANIES TO PARTNER WITH SHIPPING CORPORATION OF INDIA

, , and are partnering with to establish a dedicated maritime freighting joint venture, allocating Rs 15,000 to Rs 17,000 crore for 59 vessels including Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and other specialized ships. The venture aims to directly address India's annual expenditure of approximately Rs 6 lakh crore on chartering foreign vessels for it's crude oil and refined fuel logistics. The acquisition of the 59-ship fleet will be a mix of second-hand purchases and new builds from Indian shipyards. The joint venture structure allocates a 50% stake to , with , , and collectively holding 35%. The Maritime Development Fund (MDF), a government initiative with a Rs 25,000 crore corpus, will hold the remaining 15%. This move is set to benefit the Oil Marketing Companies on reducing their freight costs and increase profitability.