India Developing Icebreaker Construction Capacity With Russia, Shipping Minister Says

India is developing an industrial plan for building icebreakers in cooperation with Russia, the country's minister for ports, shipping and waterways said recently.

Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told TASS that India is, “determined to develop this area,” and that some of the country’s leading shipbuilding companies are also taking on the responsibility.

The minister did not name the companies involved. He also gave no vessel numbers, shipyard locations, designs, contract details or construction schedule.

The Russian Government began talks with Indian shipyards in October 2024 over four non-nuclear icebreakers for Rosatom intended for the Northern Sea Route. By January 2025, discussions with Cochin Shipyard and Reliance Naval and Engineering were reported to be advanced, with each yard to build two vessels if contracts were approved.

However, Sonowal's latest remarks did not refer to either yard or to any contract award.

The minister first raised the prospect of Russian icebreakers being built at Indian shipyards at a workshop on the Chennai–Vladivostok corridor in January 2024.