The world’s largest container shipping line may re-flag some vessels in India.
Mediterranean Shipping Co. of Geneva is considering re-registering vessels after New Delhi changed a number of shipping regulations aimed at foreign-based liner operators.
Those plans could be decided by MSC Chief Executive Soren Toft as soon as next week, according to multiple sources quoted by website ETInfra published by the Economic Times.
Toft earlier this year discussed plans for investment in the country in meetings with India’s maritime and commerce ministers.
MSC did not immediately respond to a message from FreightWaves seeking comment. The company operates a fleet of approximately 900 ships totaling 6.6 million twenty foot equivalent units.
In April MSC competitor CMA CGM of France became the first global container carrier to register three vessels in India, and plans to add a fourth.
India has established a tax-free economic zone that extends to ownership and operation of ships, which were also recently granted infrastructure status, the latter in a bid to revitalize its moribund container shipping sector.
The report said re-flagging will enable MSC to operate under cabotage rules that only permit India-flag ships to operate services connecting domestic ports.
MSC’s shift also follows proposed changes to anti-trust regulations that would exempt vessel sharing agreements among container carriers for three years so long as those pacts provide 5% of capacity with India-flag ships.
MSC serves a number of Indian ports including the major hubs of Hazira, Mundra and Nhava Sheva, part of a new weekly North India–Middle East shipping loop launched in late 2025.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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