India’s commercial shipbuilding ambitions have taken a concrete step forward as Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Limited (SDHI) wins an export contract to construct the country’s first chemical tankers for a European owner. The deal fits directly with government plans under Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lift India into the world’s top 10 shipbuilding nations by 2030 and into the top five by 2047. Those targets are supported by a Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme, recently amended, only days ago, so that product and chemical tankers qualify for aid and are designed to bolster domestic yards while drawing more foreign orders.
The contract comes from Rederiet Stenersen, a Norwegian tanker operator based in Bergen with more than 50 years of activity in the chemical and product segments. The company runs a fleet of 19 vessels tailored for operations in northern European waters and has chosen SDHI as a building partner for the first time, following a thorough review of technical solutions and commercial terms. The agreement, valued at $227 million, was preceded by a Letter of Intent signed in November 2025. For SDHI, the project represents the first shipbuilding order since the restart of yard operations.
Under the order, the Indian yard will build six product/chemical tankers of 18,000 dwt each. The ships will be about 150 m long (approximately 492 ft). The first unit is scheduled for handover in 33 months, and the owner holds an option for a further six vessels of the same design.
The series will be developed by Marinform AS and StoGda Ship Design & Engineering and will be assigned a class by DNV. The hulls are specified to Ice Class 1A for operation in ice-affected regions. Propulsion will be based on a dual-fuel arrangement with a hybrid configuration that can be prepared to run on LNG, offering several operating modes and a high degree of onboard automation.
Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Limited (SDHI), previously known as Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited, was taken over and brought back into operation in 2024 after the former owners went bankrupt. The shipyard is located at Pipavav in Gujarat on India’s west coast and, according to the company, has the country’s largest dry dock at 662 m by 65 m, along with an annual fabrication capacity of 164,000 tonnes. SDHI states that it aims to grow into a major builder of commercial vessels and heavy fabrication projects.
Company director Vivek Merchant describes the newbuild programme as evidence that a broader commercial shipbuilding ecosystem is taking shape in India. The tanker series follows the earlier announcement that CMA CGM intends to order containerships from Indian yards, while the government and industry continue to engage with other leading owners such as Maersk and MSC.
