Sagarmala Finance Forays Into Maritime Lending Space With Rs 4,300-Crore Loan Approvals

Maritime-focussed non-banking financial company Sagarmala Finance Corporation Ltd (SMFCL) on Wednesday said its board has approved loans worth about Rs 4,300 crore, marking its entry in the maritime lending space.

Of this, about Rs 4,000 crore has been earmarked for a greenfield port project, while Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) and Goa Shipyard have secured Rs 150 crore and Rs 110 crore, respectively, an official release said.

Funding to Goa Shipyard will support dredging capacity and indigenous shipbuilding capabilities, it said.

Inaugurated in June this year by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Sarbananda Sonowal, the NBFC is aimed to bridge long-standing financing gaps and deliver sector-specific financial solutions to ports, MSMEs, startups, and institutions, it said.

The approval follows an aggressive market roadmap cleared at SMFCL's annual general meeting (AGM), where the board approved an overall borrowing limit of Rs 25,000 crore and a lending target of Rs 8,000 crore for the current financial year, the release said.

With the latest sanctions scheduled for disbursement within the ongoing fiscal year, SMFCL is targeting a loan book of Rs 8,000 crore in 2025-26, reinforcing its ambition to emerge as a dedicated and credible financier for the maritime sector, it stated.

'SMFCL's entry into lending marks an important step in strengthening maritime infrastructure and enterprise financing,' said Sonowal.

Stating that India's maritime sector has witnessed unprecedented policy clarity, institutional reform and investor confidence, he said such commitment to long-term, future-ready growth has created the ecosystem that enables specialised institutions like SMFCL to catalyse development across the blue economy.

Major credit rating agencies are expected to assign a rating shortly, a development that is likely to further optimise borrowing costs and support the scaling up of lending operations, as per the release.

SMFCL's expansion strategy is backed by strong institutional support from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, which has designated the corporation as the nodal agency for the establishment and operational coordination of the Maritime Development Fund (MDF) with a total corpus of Rs 25,000 crore, it said.

The MDF includes the Maritime Investment Fund with a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore and the Interest Incentivisation Fund with a corpus of Rs 5,000 crore.

Under the approved framework, SMFCL will hold and manage the central government's contribution to the Alternative Investment Fund established for the Maritime Investment Fund in a fiduciary capacity.

In addition, SMFCL will act as the nodal agency to channelise the Interest Incentivisation Fund, significantly expanding its scope of funding support across maritime segments, the release stated.

SMFCL said the forthcoming notification of guidelines for the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme, with an outlay of Rs 44,700 crore, is expected to open new avenues for investment and collaboration, particularly in shipbuilding and allied industries, further strengthening the domestic maritime manufacturing ecosystem.

The corporation will offer tailored financial products to eligible government and private sector entities operating across the entire maritime value chain. Its offerings will include short-, medium- and long-term loans, solutions to address cash-flow mismatches, balance-sheet financing, and non-fund-based products designed to meet the specific needs of maritime projects and enterprises, it said.