KOCHI: Boat manufacturers are aplenty in the country, but what about the niche segment of high-end marine craft with an eye on the international market? The number of players might be zero. Now, though, at Njarakkal, a Kochi-based startup has set sail, eyeing the lucrative market. For Jose Babu Maliakel, founder and CEO of MKEL, boats are nothing new. He is a naval architect, and this is his second venture, which has brought out five watercraft, all ready for both the domestic and global markets.
“Well, I was already in the maritime offshore space,” Jose told TNIE. “It was office-based, with us providing engineering consulting services to clients based in Europe. We had been limited to engineering aspects. There was no manufacturing. But, after being so long in the industry, I understood the huge potential for high-end marine vessels, especially those in demand amongst the upper one to two per cent in society.”
According to him, the segment has huge potential in the state from a tourism point of view. “There are a lot of companies manufacturing boats in India. But in the premium niche segment, there are no players,” he said.
So, he founded the startup in 2025, with product development beginning in June 2025. On Saturday, veteran sailor Commander Abhilash Tomy (Retd) — the first Indian to complete a solo, non-stop and unassisted circumnavigation of the world under sail and a runner-up in the 2022 Golden Globe Race — will officially launch the company.
The startup has been built on `2.5 crore of founder capital, invested across three fronts: the Njarakkal manufacturing facility; the R&D, engineering and prototyping that brought the five launch products to market readiness; and continuing design development of three further products scheduled to enter the market in 2027, when a further investment of `7.5 crore is planned. Taken together, that is `10 crore of committed capital behind the brand’s first two years in the market.
“India builds boats, and always has. What India has never had is a marine lifestyle brand — a single house that designs and builds premium watercraft and grows a community around life on the water. With the launch of MKEL’s five finished products — all designed, engineered, detailed and built in Keralam — all that is set to change,” Jose said.
He founded MKEL to build things that can be touched, floated and taken to sea. The firm applies that culture to watercraft: naval-architect-designed hulls, vacuum-infused composites-lighter, stiffer and more consistent than hand layup, and a documented build record behind every craft.
“The sea doesn’t care where a craft was designed or who built it, only whether it was done right. That is the only question we ask at MKEL of every craft we build. We have started with kayaks. With our partners at B&G Yacht Design, based out of Australia, we will build ocean-going yachts. And from 2027, we begin building the ecosystem — an experience centre, a marina, crew and chartering — so that a community can grow around this life,” he said.
Explaining that all the products that will be made at MKEL are aimed at the international market, Jose said, “Out of the five watercraft, three of them are kayaks, one is a stand-up paddle, and the last one is a surfboard. And these are very high-end, premium kayaks that are typically imported from the US, UK, and Australia. MKEL has begun manufacturing them in India. As for the cost difference between them, the ones manufactured here will be 30% cheaper compared to what we buy internationally. But that is an India-specific price. Our main goal is the export market.”
He said, from the second quarter of 2027, the company will have a free trade agreement in Europe.
“And hopefully, with the US as well, we will have an FTA in place. Once we have that, we will use the free trade agreements as the basis to start exports to these markets in the US, UK, and the European Union. We will start with the European Union. We already have a high-level understanding with distributors in the Maldives and the Middle Eastl,” Jose said.
As for the yacht project, the firm has bagged the design licence to build a 31-foot and 39-foot ocean-going sailing yacht. MKEL It aims to bag 50 projects by the end of 2026.