Mitsui OSK Lines confident of investing in India despite global headwinds, says chief Jotaro Tamura

Despite the global headwinds, Mitsui OSK Lines is confident about making investments in India and the momentum has not changed, Jotaro Tamura, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company owning the world’s largest vessel fleet told The Hindu on Monday (May 11, 2026).

Mr. Tamura underlined that while the escalating tensions in West Asia and the ensuing impact on shipping might have introduced uncertainties in the short term, Mitsui OSK Lines in focussed on the longer-term.

“For India, in the long-term we expect the Indian economy to scale up to the next level, therefore, our momentum has not changed,” he stated, adding, “Our efforts are focussed on catching up with India’s economic growth, and that (confidence about investments in India) remain unchanged. We still look at it as a good opportunity.”

The West Asia impact

Escalating tensions in West Asia and Tehran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz has impacted vessel movement across the globe.

Responding to a query about the impact on the company, the Mitsui OSK Lines chief noted the closure of the prominent energy route led to increase in price of fuel, which the shipping market is increasingly factoring into their operations.

“We have seen oil prices have hiked. The overall shipping market is factoring this onto businesses. As a knock-on effect, with oil prices up, the freight market too has been impacted,” he stated, adding from a larger context, “If I take containers for example, it (operational costs) have increased from pre-war levels.”

Mr. Tamura also held at present Mitsui OSK Lines’ priority is to ensure the passage of their ships out of the Persian Gulf.

‘Indian opportunity: both in energy and non-energy’

Elaborating on the Indian opportunity, Mr. Tamura noted it extended beyond just energy trade to transport of automotives, among other things.

“There is energy imports [as an opportunity]. As the Indian economy grows that would give more impulse to energy [trade] and that will give us more opportunities for charter deals,” he stated, adding, “[Further], we are relatively quite big in transport of automotives and India is becoming the export hub for vehicles. As it grows further, we are definitely interested in catching with demand from customers in the two segments.”

‘India can essay a role in decarbonisation of shipping’

The Mitsui OSK Lines chief also held that India has “great potential” in efforts towards green shipping and decarbonisation, as producers of green energies and becoming potential suppliers of green hydrogen and ammonia to the world.

“Overall [the global decarbonised shipping] market may have slowed down a bit in the past six to twelve months for varied reasons, that is, in the short term. However, in the mid to long term, we believe the decarbonisation efforts would be unchanged and that is where India can play a role,” he stated.