The union cabinet has recently approved the Coastal Shipping Bill, 2024 and repealed part 14 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1958 except section 411A.
The Bill removes any licensing requirement for Indian vessels to participate in coastal trade. Further, the license conditions for foreign ships have been made statutory through this Bill. The Bill also proposes to enable statutory imposition of different license conditions as to indigenous build or staffing of crew, etc., on foreign vessels engaged in coasting trade for their regulation, to provide impetus to the domestic coastal shipping economy.
The legislation has been carved out of the part 14 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, to allow procedural ease for provisions related to coastal shipping. This part will be repealed once the Bill is codified into legislation.