Some of the most competitive ports in the world are supported by their respective Maritime Clusters Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong and London are some of the finest maritime clusters catalyzing major port lead employment and economic activities. In contrast with these the Indian maritime clusters around the ports of Mumbai, Goa, Kochi, Chennai etc. are organically developed. This does not permit the optimum benefits to flows from the same. There is a need therefore to examine the issues involved in India and work on remodeling the Maritime Cluster's growth to optimize the gain.

Need for providing a geographic concentration of interconnected companies, specialised suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries and associated institutions that not only competes but also co-operates first needs to be analyzed. Due to high growth in trade, Indian shipping industry has grown many folds in the last few years. Indian shipping industry now consists of several players including government ports, private ports, shipowners, charterers, brokers, forwarders, agents, surveyors, manning agents, ship managers, ship operators, maritime lawyers, shipping consultants, and several other service providers.

The economic impact of maritime activities could be broken down into direct and indirect effects. Direct effect considers the economic activity and jobs generated directly by the cluster. The other effects include the jobs and demand created up and down the supply chain, as well as the consumption generated in the rest of the economy. Thus, the value and demand generated in the clusters trickles down through the overall economy to create further jobs and demand, making the combined economic importance of an even greater nature than simply direct activities. This has led to the realization that the full economic significance of maritime activities is not the jobs at sea, but rather the derived employment and economic activities on shore. Further it enhances the competitiveness and growth in local maritime economy. Maritime Clusters, is a relatively new concept in India. Realizing the importance of this it would be our effort to understand the world's best practices with regard to Maritime cluster development. Keeping this in mind, the 7th National Conference on Infrastructure and Ports with the theme "Maritime Cluster Development : A Thrust Area for Gujarat to become a Maritime Hub” is being organized on October 30, 2015 at H.T Parekh Auditorium, Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA), Ahmedabad. The conference would help us identify initiatives, opportunities and challenges involved in promoting development of a Maritime Cluster in Gujarat.

• The Maritime Cluster – an Agenda for Growth • Experiences of Developing Maritime Cluster Across the World • Planning and design of Maritime cluster • Private sector participation in Cluster dynamics • Expectations of stakeholders in maritime cluster • Maritime Cluster, avenue for Shipping finance in Gujarat • Maritime financial services in cluster development • Regulatory Issues in Maritime Cluster • Integrated Approach to Skill development and Capacity Building - A ‘Maritime Cluster' approach