What the board approved
Cochin Shipyard's board, meeting on September 09, 2026, approved forming a joint venture with Drydocks World – Dubai FZCO (DDW), a DP World company. The JV will be a private limited company registered at Kochi, held equally by the two partners, and will not be listed.
The JV will own, operate and manage CSL's International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) at Willingdon Island, Kochi — a 30-hectare facility on land leased from the Cochin Port Authority for 60 years, handling dry-docking, maintenance, repair and overhaul of commercial and naval vessels below 130 metres and 6,000 tonnes. The JV also envisages augmenting capacity through the addition of ten workstations.
How the asset moves and who controls the JV
Per the filing, the ISRF will be transferred to the JV company on a slump-sale basis as a going concern. CSL will receive half the consideration in cash and half in shares of the JV company, leaving it with a 50% economic interest.
Control of the new company tilts toward the partner. The JV board will have five directors, of whom DDW nominates three and appoints senior management such as the CEO, CFO and COO, while CSL nominates two. According to the filing, DDW brings more than four decades in the sector, over 300 projects a year, and operates the largest ship repair facility in the Middle East.
Because the ISRF is being transferred to a company in which it holds 50%, CSL notes the business transfer qualifies as a related party transaction undertaken at arm's length; CSL and DDW themselves are not related parties.
Approvals and timeline
The transaction is not yet complete. CSL says it requires approval from the Cochin Port Authority, the Government of India (the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and DIPAM under the Ministry of Finance) and its own shareholders, and that it is in the process of approaching the relevant authorities.
The definitive agreements — Joint Venture, Shareholders, Business Transfer and License — have been finalised. The Joint Venture Agreement is proposed to be signed on September 11, 2026, with the rest to follow on incorporation and receipt of approvals. CSL expects implementation before the end of the current financial year and will provide further updates in due course.