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Date: 2026-04-18Category: Press ReleaseState: Union GovernmentCountry: India
Cabinet approves proposal for creation of ‘Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool’ (BMI pool) with a sovereign guarantee of Rs 12,980 crore to facilitate continuous maritime insurance coverages
**Executive Summary**
On April 18, 2026, the Union Cabinet approved the creation of the ‘Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool’ (BMI pool) to provide continuous and affordable maritime insurance. Backed by a Rs 12,980 crore sovereign guarantee, the pool is designed to protect Indian trade from global volatility and geopolitical instability. The initiative aims to reduce external dependency and ensure trade continuity even during international sanctions or transit through volatile maritime corridors.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Establishment and Funding**
* Approval of the Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMI pool) supported by a sovereign guarantee of Rs 12,980 crore.
* The pool provides a combined underwriting capacity of approximately Rs 950 crore.
* The sovereign guarantee is intended to strengthen self-reliance, sanctions resilience, and sovereign control over maritime trade.
* **Scope of Coverage**
* Covers all maritime risks, including Hull and Machinery, Cargo, War risk, and Protection and Indemnity (P&I).
* P&I coverage includes third-party liabilities such as oil pollution, wreck removal, cargo damage, collision liabilities, and crew injury or repatriation.
* Applicable to Indian flagged or controlled vessels, as well as vessels destined for or starting from India.
* **Operational Objectives**
* Facilitates insurance for vessels transiting volatile maritime corridors and international ports.
* Reduces the high dependence of Indian vessels on the International Group of Protection and Indemnity (IGP&I) Club.
* Enables the issuance of policies by member insurers using the pool's combined capacity.
* Promotes the development of specialized marine underwriting, claims management, and legal expertise within India.
* **Governance**
* A specifically constituted Governing Body will oversee the formation and functioning of the pool.
* The pool will manage liability insurance locally, tailored to Indian shipping conditions and regulatory requirements.
**Impact Analysis**
**Indian Ship Owners and Operators**
**Impact**
They gain access to affordable, continuous insurance coverage that is less vulnerable to global geopolitical tensions and the withdrawal of international coverage due to sanctions.
**Action Required**
Ship owners of Indian flagged or controlled vessels should transition to or utilize the BMI pool for their maritime insurance needs.
**Domestic Insurance Providers**
**Impact**
Participating insurers will benefit from a combined underwriting capacity of Rs 950 crore and the opportunity to develop localized expertise in specialized marine insurance and claims management.
**Action Required**
Insurers acting as pool members must issue policies under the new framework and coordinate underwriting activities through the pool.
**Governing Body**
**Impact**
This body is tasked with the strategic oversight and operational management of the domestic insurance entity.
**Action Required**
The body must oversee the formal formation of the pool and ensure its functioning aligns with the objectives of self-reliance and sovereign control.
Key Entities Referenced
Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMI pool): A domestic insurance pool created to provide continuous maritime insurance coverage and reduce external dependency for Indian vessels against risks like Hull, Cargo, and War.
International Group of Protection and Indemnity (IGP&I) Club: An international group on which Indian vessels currently depend for P&I insurance, the reliance on which the BMI pool seeks to reduce.
Governing Body: The administrative entity constituted to oversee the formation and functioning of the Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool.
Cabinet
Cabinet approves proposal for creation of
‘Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool’ (BMI pool) with
a sovereign guarantee of Rs 12,980 crore to
facilitate continuous maritime insurance
coverages
The Domestic Insurance Pool addresses global volatility,
geopolitical instability and reduces external Insurance
dependency of Indian vessels
The pool covers all maritime risks like Hull and Machinery,
Cargo, P&I and War risk, Covers vessels carrying cargo from
any international origin to Indian ports and vice-versa, even
when transiting volatile maritime corridors
Posted On: 18 APR 2026 3:10PM by PIB Delhi
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today has approved the proposal
for creation of a domestic insurance pool, namely ‘Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool’ (BMI pool) with a
sovereign guarantee of Rs.12,980 crores to facilitate continuous maritime insurance coverages. The pool
ensures that Indian trade continues to have access to affordable insurance for vessels carrying cargo from
any international origin to Indian ports and vice-versa, even when transiting volatile maritime corridors.
With increased global volatility and geopolitical instability, maritime trade has been impacted with
increased risk of losses for cargo and vessels resulting in increased insurance costs and uncertainty in
continuous availability of insurance. Further, there is high dependence of Indian vessels on International
Group of Protection and Indemnity (IGP&I) Club for P&I insurance covering third-party liabilities like
Oil pollution liability, Wreck removal, Cargo damage, Crew injury and repatriation, Collision liabilities
and so on. Accordingly, there was a need for a domestic maritime risk covering pool to maintain
sovereignty and continuity of trade in face of withdrawal of coverage due to sanctions or due to
geopolitical tensions.
In the above backdrop, the Government has approved formation of ‘Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool’
(BMI pool) for Indian flagged or controlled vessels or vessels destined to or starting from India, backed by
a sovereign guarantee. The pool would cover all maritime risks like Hull and Machinery, Cargo, P&I and
War risk. The policies will be issued by insurers that are Pool members, using the combined underwriting
capacity of the Pool, which would be around Rs.950 crore. The Pool will help to manage liability
insurance locally, tailored to Indian Shipping conditions and regulatory requirements, develop specialized
Marine underwriting, claims management and legal expertise within India.Further, a Governing Body Constituted for this pool would oversee the formation and functioning of the
pool. The rationale for providing a sovereign guarantee to the proposed domestic insurance entity is rooted
in the objectives of strengthening self-reliance, sanctions resilience and ensuring greater sovereign control.
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