"The current size of the Indian maritime sector is in the region of around $8.5 billion. It is expected to reach a size of $19 billion by 2010 and $80 billion by 2020," a report from i-maritime Consultancy Services said in Chennai.

The expected volumes handled would touch approximately 1.7 billion tonnes in 2020. The rapid growth of Indian maritime sector will be primarily driven by four factors -- stage of economic growth cycle of a nation, the significance of the economy in global market place, developments in the ICT and the political framework, the document said.

Indian IT companies are employing around 500 software professionals on maritime and logistics related projects for their global clients. International maritime companies like Maersk, Royal Nedlloyd have set up back offices in India and they together employ around 1500 people.

The maritime sector will benefit from these skilled resources in terms of shortening its learning curve for understanding various IT related issues and reducing the implementation cycles and costs for the same.

Availability of sophisticated IT solutions will also help improving efficiency of the entire logistics chain including port and shipping infrastructure and would also facilitate integration of the maritime industry with the IT intensive logistics industry, the report said.