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India’s re-election to the IMO Council underscores its growing influence in global maritime governance and its ability to shape a more inclusive, sustainable, and rules-based ocean order
India’s re-election to Category B of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council for 2026-27, where it again topped its category’s vote count, highlights growing recognition of the country’s leadership in the maritime sector. This is the second consecutive time India has topped the vote tally, placing it alongside major maritime nations, such as Germany, France, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Brazil. The support India received reflects its emerging role as a committed, forward-looking voice in global maritime governance.
The IMO, a United Nations (UN) agency, works to make shipping safer and cleaner, and reduce pollution from ships, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The IMO Assembly, comprising all member states, is its top decision-making body. The Assembly meets every two years to approve the work programme and budget, and to elect the Council. The Council acts as the executive body, steering the Organization’s work between Assembly meetings. Council members are elected under three categories: Category A includes countries most involved in providing international shipping services; Category B covers those with the largest stake in global seaborne trade; and Category C represents countries with specific maritime interests, ensuring broad geographic balance.
Holding a Category B seat allows India to play an integral role in shaping discussions on key issues, including shipping safety, decarbonisation, digitalisation, and seafarer welfare.
Around 95 percent of India’s trade by volume and about 70 percent by value is carried by sea. Moreover, India has been steadily expanding its maritime ambitions through initiatives such as the Sagarmala programme, Maritime Vision 2030, and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, while aligning closely with global standards. A seat on the IMO Council complements these efforts and gives India a platform to support practical, balanced, and inclusive rules at a time when the global maritime sector is changing rapidly. It also provides India with a platform to learn from international best practices, share its experience, and bolster its own policies. The backing India received in the elections reflects confidence in its sound and consistent approach.
India’s presence on the Council underscores its growing role as a responsible global maritime player, particularly in supporting capacity-building and knowledge-sharing across the Global South. Holding a Category B seat allows India to play an integral role in shaping discussions on key issues, including shipping safety, decarbonisation, digitalisation, and seafarer welfare. As India expands its ports, develops shipbuilding capacity, and strengthens green logistics networks, its involvement in global decision-making ensures that its national priorities align with the international rules-based order and that the voice of the Global South is heard.
Climate action remains central to the IMO’s agenda as global shipping works towards net-zero emissions by 2050. India’s re-election to the IMO Council allows it to continue shaping this transition, while emphasising that decarbonisation must be effective, affordable, and fair, especially for developing maritime nations facing high compliance costs. India’s own experience gives weight to this position, enabling it to argue for practical pathways that balance climate goals with development needs, supported by innovation and targeted investments.
India’s green shipping efforts are already evident across its ports and maritime sector. Initiatives such as the Harit Sagar Guidelines and the Harit Shrey incentive scheme are encouraging cleaner vessels and lower emissions, supported by renewable energy usage, clean-fuel pilots, electric harbour craft, and progress in ship recycling. Work on green and digital shipping corridors, along with the Green Port Performance Index, is helping align port operations with climate resilience, efficiency, and environmental protection.
With a long coastline and an expanding port network, resilient and future-ready port cities are a strategic priority for India. Its Council role also reinforces its efforts to address regional environmental risks in the Indian Ocean, including pollution, ballast water discharge, and rising shipping traffic. It also enables India to combine its domestic reforms with international engagement to support cleaner maritime growth.
India’s hands-on experience, including anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and sustained engagement in the Western Indian Ocean, lends credibility and strengthens regional maritime awareness through the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) and partnerships with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) members, the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) countries, and African coastal states.
More than 90 percent of global trade moves by sea, making the IMO key to maintaining global economic stability. As India’s role in maritime logistics and shipbuilding grows, staying closely involved in regulatory processes becomes increasingly important. Being on the IMO Council enables India to contribute to discussions on frameworks such as the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code and casualty investigation guidelines, helping guide how countries respond to threats at sea, from piracy to humanitarian crises. India’s hands-on experience, including anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and sustained engagement in the Western Indian Ocean, lends credibility and strengthens regional maritime awareness through the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) and partnerships with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) members, the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) countries, and African coastal states.
India’s Council role also allows it to push for strategic and sustainable maritime connectivity. Initiatives like SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region), green and digital shipping corridors with Singapore and Rotterdam, and cooperation with Japan’s Quality Infrastructure Partnership, along with emerging trade routes such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and maritime links with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), enhance trade and connectivity, help reduce emissions, and make supply chains more resilient.
Through its global partnerships, engagement with regional actors, shipbuilding initiatives, and its role at the IMO, India can bridge the divide between developed and developing countries, build consensus, strengthen maritime security, and support a fair and steady global trading system.
At the same time, India remains aware of the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and of rising maritime risks in the Indo-Pacific, the South China Sea, and the Red Sea. Through its global partnerships, engagement with regional actors, shipbuilding initiatives, and its role at the IMO, India can bridge the divide between developed and developing countries, build consensus, strengthen maritime security, and support a fair and steady global trading system.
Nearly 40 percent of the world’s population lives within 100 km of a coastline, making people central to sustainable maritime development. As major ports expand in close proximity to urban areas, local communities increasingly bear the environmental and social costs. Vulnerable groups such as fishers, informal workers, women, and migrant labourers are frequently the most affected. Emerging port cities in the Global South handle millions of cargo units each year, yet they continue to face governance challenges. Port-led growth can transform urban landscapes, affecting access to waterfronts, traditional livelihoods, and public spaces. For port expansion, digitalisation, and green transitions to truly benefit both cities and communities, it will be important to balance economic goals, policy needs, and environmental safeguards with the aspirations of local communities, while encouraging multistakeholder collaboration to ensure that growth benefits all.
India could strengthen its focus on community wellbeing at the IMO and champion these priorities while integrating local needs with broader development goals. Building on its existing initiatives, India can promote greater integration of local knowledge, indigenous perspectives, heritage-sensitive planning, and coordinated governance to create sustainable coastal regions. As one of the world’s largest suppliers of seafarers, India has a strong stake in safeguarding their welfare. Through initiatives such as Sagar Mein Samman, India supports training, mental health, gender equality, safety, and humane working conditions for seafarers. Its partnership with the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network strengthens collaboration on infrastructure, facilities, and wellbeing for seafarers and onshore employees, as well as support for their families, aligning with global standards. Together, these initiatives give India a strong platform at the IMO to promote people-centred maritime development and inclusive policies for the Global South.
India can promote greater integration of local knowledge, indigenous perspectives, heritage-sensitive planning, and coordinated governance to create sustainable coastal regions.
India’s re-election to the IMO Council reflects its growing strength and its increasingly significant role in the maritime sector, especially as developing countries seek a stronger voice in global rule-making. This election hands India a timely opportunity to influence the future of maritime and ocean governance. As global trade patterns shift, India’s presence on the Council adds stability and direction. India’s growing port network and national initiatives enable it to demonstrate how maritime development can enhance efficiency, support local communities, and protect the environment, offering examples other developing countries can follow.
Over the next two years, India can further help deepen cooperation, build regional partnerships, encourage knowledge transfer, and promote a safe, sustainable, and inclusive maritime order. Most importantly, this presents India with another chance to shape the global maritime discourse, guided by a pragmatic and equitable long-term vision.
Anusha Kesarkar Gavankar is a Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
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