Singapore-based Mare Maritime Group, which is into owning/operating ships, trading and crew training/hiring, said it would set up its regional headquarters in India to tap rising opportunities. The India operations will be led by group entity MARE Maritime India Pte. Ltd. which is currently into crew training and hiring.  “We have decided to make India our regional headquarters because of the rising demand for clean petroleum products [CNG, LNG] and edible oils which are mostly imported,” Rohit Kapur, founder & CEO, Mare Maritime Group said. “Our India office will build one of the biggest pool of Handy-size tankers and the commercial management of MR tankers will be handled from India for trading of clean petroleum products and edible oil,” he added.  However, the technical management of ships will be handled from Vietnam. “India is a growing economy and due to population growth the demand for edible oils is growing steadily. Our Medium Range (MR) tankers will be handy for import of soyabean, sunflower and palm oil,” Mr. Kapur said.  “Our MR tankers will also be deployed for transportation of clean petroleum products, he added.  ⁠ “Crew management and commercial management will be conducted by Indian office including trading of clean petroleum and edible and its warehousing, packaging, distribution and retail management and supply,” he added. “After all the 20 MR tankers are delivered and trading and commercial management of the vessels picks up, our goal is to go for an IPO of Mare Maritime Group and list in Indian stock exchanges,” he added.  Besides Singapore and India, the group has expanded into Kenya and other countries. Currently, it has about 500 employees in global operations. The group plans to be a leading player in MR tankers and supply clean petroleum products to global markets, including India.