INTRODUCTION
• Ports are strategic geographical locations which are situated at the
edge of ocean, seas, rivers, or lakes, where ships load and
discharge cargo and passengers.
• Indian Ports handle around 95% of EXIM Cargo by volume and
68% by value.
• 12 major ports and more than 200 non-major ports in the country.
• Out of the 200 minor ports, around 65 ports are handling cargo
and the others are “Port Limits” where no cargo is handled.
• Major ports are under the jurisdiction of the Government of India
(Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways).
• Non-major ports come under the jurisdiction of the respective
state Governments’ Maritime Boards (GMB).
INTRODUCTION
• The Major Ports are governed under Major Port Trusts Act 1963,
except Ennore port, which is administered under the Companies
Act 1956.
• All the Non-Major Ports (minor ports) are governed under the
IPA Act, 1908
• Major Ports may be:
• Seaports - located in the coastal region
• Inland ports - located on a navigable water channel (river, lake, canal
etc.)
• Cabinet Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways - Sarbananda
Sonowal
Ports on Eastern
Coast of India
West Bengal
• Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port
(Riverine)
Odisha
• Paradip Port (Natural)
Andhra Pradesh
• Visakhapatnam Port (Natural)
Tamil Nadu
• Kamarajar Port (Artificial)
• Chennai Port (Artificial)
• V. O. Chidambaranar Port (Artificial)
Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port
(West Bengal)
• Also known as Kolkata Port.
• Oldest operating port in India (constructed
by British East India Company).
• The only riverine Major Port in India.
• Called the gateway to Eastern India.
• It has two dock systems :
• Kolkata Dock System at Kolkata
• Haldia Dock Complex at Haldia
• Haldia Port is located at the point where
Hooghly river meets Haldi river
Paradip Port (Odisha)
• The only major port of Odisha.
• Located in Jagatsinghpur district
of Odisha.
• At the confluence of river Mahanadi
and Bay of Bengal.
• Known as: India’s first major post-
Independence port on the east coast.
(1966).
Visakhapatnam Port
(Andhra Pradesh)
• Visakhapatnam – also called Vizag – is a
historic port city.
• The Dolphin's Nose Hill to the north of
the entrance channel protects the
harbour from cyclones that strike the
east coast
• Known as: India’s deepest landlocked
port, India’s oldest shipyard.
Chennai Port (Tamil Nadu)
• Old name - Madras Port.
• It is an artificial and all-weather.
• Known as: Largest port in the Bay of
Bengal, Gateway to South India.
V. O. Chidambaranar Port
(Tamil Nadu)
• Old name - Tuticorin Port.
• Artificial port, located in Gulf of Mannar.
• Famous for pearl fishery in the Bay of Bengal.
• Thus, Thoothukudi (or Tuticorin) is also
known as the pearl city.
• World’s largest evacuation mission by Indian
Navy to repatriate the Indian nationals
abroad, ‘Samudra Setu’ under the ‘Vande
Bharat’ Mission, was carried out through V.O.
Chidambaranar Port in 2020
Kamarajar Port (Tamil Nadu)
• Old name - Ennore Port.
• First and only Corporatized Major Port
(is registered as a company) under the
management control of Kamarajar Port
Limited (KPL).
• This port is registered as a public
company and 67% of its stake is owned
by Government of India.
• Was constructed to relieve pressure at
Chennai Port
Ports on Western
Coast of India
Gujarat
• Deendayal Port (Natural)
Maharashtra
• Mumbai Port Trust (Natural)
• Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (Artificial)
Goa
• Mormugao Port (Natural)
Karnataka
• New Mangalore Port (Natural)
Kerala
• Kochi Port (Natural)
Deendayal Port
• Old Name - Kandla Port.
• Situated in the Kandla Creek on the Gulf of Kutch
• Constructed in the 1950s as the chief seaport
serving western India, as after the partition,
Karachi port went to Pakistan
• India’s second busiest container Port after
Mundra port (2020-21).
• India’s busiest Major Port (2020-21)
• The mainstay of Deendayal Port is crude oil
imported for Essar Oil’s Vadinar refinery. It
accounts for half of the port’s cargo traffic.
Mundra Port in Gujarat
(Private Port)
• Owned and operated by Adani Port and Special
Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ), India’s largest
private port operator
• India’s busiest container port in 2020-21, as
per the Annual Report 2021 of the Ministry of
Ports, Shipping and Waterways
• Known as: India’s largest private port, India’s
largest commercial port, largest coal import
terminal.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT)
Maharashtra
• Old name - Nhava Sheva.
• Situated along the eastern shore of Mumbai
harbour off Elephanta Island.
• This port is also the terminal of Western Dedicated
Freight Corridor.
• Known as: India’s largest container port, India’s
top container port, India’s largest artificial port.
Mumbai Port (Maharashtra)
• In operation since 1873, Mumbai Port is India’s
second oldest port (Kolkata being the oldest)
• This port has 3 enclosed wet docks:
• Prince’s Dock
• Victoria Dock
• Indira Dock
• Tags: India’s largest port (by size), India’s largest
natural port, India’s second oldest port.
Mormugao Port (Goa)
• It is situated on the estuaries of the Juari
river.
• It is a leading iron ore exporting port in
India.
New Mangalore Port (Karnataka)
• Situated on the backwaters of the Netravati and
Gurpur rivers off the coast of Mangaluru
• It is referred as ‘Gateway of Karnataka’.
• 100% powered by solar energy
Cochin Port or Kochi Port
(Kerala)
• It is known as the ‘queen of Arabian sea’.
• It is a natural port.
• Located on the Willington Island
Upcoming Major & PPP Ports
• Government has given in-principle approval for development of a
Major port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra, with the government
holding 51 per cent stake in the project.
• ‘Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL)’, being developed by
Adani Group in collaboration with Kerala Government, will be
operational by December 2023
• In 2018-19 India invested approx. Rs. 10 Crore for development and
operations of Chabahar Port in Iran
Chabahar Port (Iran)
• Located in south-eastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman.
• Iran's only oceanic port
• Consists of two separate ports named:
• Shahid Kalantari and
• Shahid Beheshti
• Being close to Afghanistan and the Central Asian
countries of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and others,
it has been termed the "Golden Gate" to these
landlocked countries.
• In October 2017, India's first shipment of wheat to
Afghanistan was sent through the Chabahar Port.
• In December 2018, India took over the port's
operations.
Superlatives in Major Ports of India
• Oldest operating port - Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (150 years)
• Only riverine Major Port - Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port
• Gateway to South India - Chennai Port
• Largest port in the Bay of Bengal - Chennai Port
• Largest port in Arabian Sea - Mumbai Port
• First and only Corporatized Major Port - Kamarajar Port
• Busiest container port by cargo volume - Deendayal Port (2020-21)
• Largest container port of India - Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust
New Names of various Major ports
Old Name New Name State
Kolkata Port Dr. Syama Prasad West Bengal
Mukherjee Port
Ennore Port Kamarajar Port Tamil Nadu
Tuticorin Port V.O. Chidambaranar Tamil Nadu
Port
Kandla Port Deendayal Port Trust Gujarat
Nhava Sheva Jawaharlal Nehru Port Maharashtra
No matter how long
the journey is, daily
consistent steps
alone will make you
complete it.
