While Lok Sabha cleared the ‘Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025’, Rajya Sabha passed the ‘Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025’
- Former seeks to align India’s maritime laws with international conventions like MARPOL and Wreck Removal Convention, the latter promotes ease of doing business.
Key Highlights of the Bills
- Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025 (Replacing Merchant Shipping Act, 1958)
- Mandatory Registration for all Vessels: Regardless of type of propulsion or weight.
- Introduces temporary registration of vessels for recycling.
- Expands Definition of Vessels: To include types like mobile offshore drilling units, submersibles, and non-displacement crafts.
- Ownership Criteria: Relaxed to include vessels partly owned by Indian Citizens, company/body established as per Indian laws, registered cooperative societies, Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), etc.
- National Shipping Board and National Welfare Board for Seafarers: Retains provisions on these from the Act.
- Renames Director-General of Shipping to Director-General of Marine Administration: Empowered to regulate maritime education and training.
- Expands Seafarer Agreements: To include more parties, ensures social security access for seafarers.
- Preventing Pollution at Sea: Mandates Pollution certificate for all vessels irrespective of tonnage.
- Mandatory Registration for all Vessels: Regardless of type of propulsion or weight.
- Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025’ (Replacing Indian Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925)
- Adopts the Hague-Visby Rules (1924): Along with its subsequent amendments a globally accepted maritime standard.
- Role of Central Government: To issue directions and amend rules related to Bills of Lading.
- It is a document issued by a freight carrier to a shipper containing details like type, quantity, condition, and destination of goods carried.
