Can India Be A Shipowners' Market?

Over the past decade, ship leasing has grown to become a significant substitute as a provision for financing of ship acquisition. The ship leasing market is projected to further grow at a rather significant pace in the near future, with the expansion of the Chinese leasing companies.¹ India's International Financial Services Authority (Hereinafter referred to as "IFSA") , in line with the global trends in the ship leasing market recently released Framework for Ship Leasing.² The idea culminated by virtue of the Ship Acquisition, Financing and Leasing (Hereinafter referred to as "SAFAL") Report which redefined a ship lease as a financial product, to sustain in the global maritime play. The current framework acts as an enabling channel to achieve SAFAL's initial object.³ Considering the increase in several entities setting up their operations in the Indian IFSC, after the IFSC Authority came out with the framework enabling aircraft leasing and ancillary services, one