Shipping Ministry Overhauls 63-Year-Old Maritime Flag Rules Under Merchant Shipping Act 2025

NEW DELHI — India has dismantled its six-decade-old maritime flag protocols, establishing a modernized legal framework for every commercial and state-owned vessel navigating international and territorial waters.

Signed under Section 37(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, the order supersedes the foundational February 9, 1961 maritime flag directive. Actions instituted under the original 1961 order will retain full legal validity. But going forward, every civilian hull registered under Indian jurisdiction must align with sharp, codified visual standards at sea.

The overhaul ends an era of regulatory drift.

Red Ensign Protocol for Commercial Fleets

Under the newly notified rules, Indian merchant vessels registered under the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, must hoist the Red Ensign. The design is precise: a field of vibrant red bearing the Indian National Flag anchored squarely in the upper canton—the quadrant nearest the flagstaff.

To prevent visual distortion across open-water conditions, the flag’s length must measure exactly one and a half times its width. That dimension directly matches the statutory proportions laid out under the Flag Code of India, 2002. Ships failing to adhere face immediate compliance scrutiny during port-state inspections and maritime audits.

Blue Ensign Standards and Naval Warrants

Government-owned vessels operate under a separate hierarchy. All state-owned craft—regardless of whether they are registered under the Merchant Shipping Act—must fly the Blue Ensign emblazoned with the distinctive crest of their governing department, authority, or agency.

Yet two frontline maritime arms stand completely outside this directive. Ships belonging to the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard are formally exempt, preserving their sovereign defense ensigns intact.

Any civilian government agency seeking to mount a new insignia must submit applications through the Director General of Maritime Administration for central government clearance. Agencies already using previously cleared emblems may retain them without reapplying.

Stricter controls govern merchant ships that operate under financial subvention from the Ministry of Defence. When commissioned exclusively for military logistics, these commercial vessels must hoist the Blue Ensign. Their authority does not flow through bureaucratic channels. Instead, their badges require a formal Warrant issued directly by the Chief of the Naval Staff following application to Naval Headquarters.

Technical blueprints in the notification lock down the Blue Ensign’s visual geometry: a royal blue field with the Indian National Flag set in the upper canton, offset by a light golden emblem positioned in the center of the flag's fly half. The emblem’s footprint cannot exceed a circular perimeter spanning 13/30th of the flag’s total width.

The notification takes immediate effect across all Indian registries, with the Directorate General of Maritime Administration directed to enforce design conformity across domestic shipyards and operating berths.