Capt. Naveen S. Singhal and Capt. M. M. Saggi

Kerala must ensure fair access at India’s emerging maritime gateway while avoiding the mistake of discouraging the very investment needed to make it a global hub. The proposed investment by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) in Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited represents a defining moment for Kerala’s maritime ambitions. The reported acquisition of a 49 percent stake by MSC, valued at around US$1.4 billion and placing the overall valuation of the port at nearly US$2.85 billion,...

The Bargi Dam tragedy exposes India’s dangerous neglect of inland water safety. The recent capsizing of a tourist boat at Bargi Dam near Jabalpur, which claimed multiple lives, is a stark reminder of a deeper and systemic failure in the approach to inland water safety. Early reports point to a familiar and disturbing pattern: inadequate safety measures, questionable operational decisions in adverse weather, and a lack of effective regulatory monitoring and enforcement. Yet, to treat this...

In the world’s most vital oil chokepoint, the elegant certainties of maritime law dissolve into a murky contest of power, risk and coercion. The Strait of Hormuz is, in the dry language of international law, a “strait used for international navigation.” In the less sterile vocabulary of geopolitics, it is a loaded gun pointed at the global economy. Barely 21 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point, this corridor connects the oil-rich Persian Gulf to the wider Arabian Sea. Around a fifth of...