Research · Sagarmanthan 2026: India Pitches a Rules-Based Maritime Order as Shipping Chokepoints Multiply

Research · Sagarmanthan 2026: India Pitches a 'Rules-Based Maritime Order' as Shipping Chokepoints Multiply

India's third Sagarmanthan: The Great Oceans Dialogue opened in New Delhi on October 7, bringing together 1,200+ delegates from nearly 75 countries — ministers, naval chiefs, port authorities, shipbuilders, financiers, the OECD, UN Trade and Development, and the African Union — under the theme "Blue Geographies, New Aspirations: Trade, Technology, and Trust at Sea."

Prime Minister Modi, in a written message, called for a "free, open, secure and rules-based maritime order," pitching India's maritime transformation — ports doubling capacity, faster turnaround times, a growing share of the global seafarer workforce — as a partnership opportunity. Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal spent day two deepening maritime ties with Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Greece, Lithuania, and Mozambique, with green shipping corridors, ports, and supply-chain resilience on the agenda.

The backdrop is commercial, not ceremonial: on the same day, India condemned attacks on four commercial ships in the Black Sea carrying Indian nationals, and the Houthis continue threatening Saudi-linked shipping through Bab el-Mandeb, forcing VLCCs onto longer, costlier routes via Suez. A 270,000-dwt tanker was just fixed for a Red Sea–South Korea voyage via Suez at roughly $55 million — a sign that rerouted trade is being priced as the new normal.

Original: read here

- Day 2: https://www.theweek.in/news/maritime/2026/10/09/sagarmanthan-2026-ports-green-shipping-corridor-and-supply-chains-in-focus-at-day-2-bilateral-talks.amp.html