Major Ports in India – List of Important Sea Ports in India

With a long coastline of 7,516.6 km, there are 12 major ports in India and around 205 notified non-majors (intermediate) ports. According to the Ministry of Shipping, around 95% of India’s trading by volume and 70% by value is done through maritime transport. Among these 13 major ports in India, 07 were in the western coastal line ie., along the Arabian Sea coast and the 05 of them is in the eastern coastal line. The remaining major port is situated in Andaman Nicobar Island Union Territory. Even though the Mundra port in Gujarat is categorized as an intermediate port it does handle large capacities of cargo more than some of these 13 major ports. Mundra Port is the largest private port in India.

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Major Ports in India

Kolkata Port, Paradip Port, New Mangalore Port, Cochin Port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai Port, Deendayal Port, Vishakhapatnam Port, Chennai Port, V.O. Chidambaranar, Kamarajar Port and    Mormugao Port, Port Blair Port

Important Ports & Location

Ports in the Western Coastal line

1.Deendayal Port

• Old name – Kandla Port
• State : Gujarat
• Opened in : 1950
• First Export Processing Port in India

2. The Mumbai Port

• State: Maharashtra
• Opened in : 1873
• Also called as ‘Front Bay’ of India

3. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust

• Oldname: Nhava Sheva
• State:  Maharashtra
• Opened  in : 1989
• Second largest Container Port in India

4. Mormugao Port

• State: Goa
• Opened in : 1963

5. Mangalore Port

• State: Karnataka
• Constructed in : 1974
• India’s first deep-water and all-weather Port

6. Cochin Port

• State: Kerala
• Constructed in :1928
• Called as Natural Gateway to the South-West India

Ports in the Eastern Coastal line

7. Kolkata Port

• State: West Bengal
• Opened in : 1870
• Only riverine port in India
• Known as Gateway to Eastern India

8. Vishakhapatnam Port

• State: Andhra Pradesh
• Opened in : 1933

9. Paradip Port

• State : Odisha
• Opened in : 1966
• First major port on East Coast commissioned in independent India.

10. Chennai  Port

• State: Tamil Nadu
• Opened in : 1881
• Old name: Madras Port
• Third Oldest Port in India

11. V.O. Chidambaranar Port

• State: Tamil Nadu
• Old name: Tuticorin Port
• Opened in: 1974

12. Kamarajar Port Limited

• State: Tamil Nadu
• Old name: Ennore Port
• Opened in : 1999

Port Blair Port is located in Andaman and Nicobar islands.

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After the partition India loss the Karachi port to Pakistan. Kandla also is known as the  Kandla port in Kuchchh is also known as tidal port as it is the first port developed post Independence to ease the volume of trade on the Mumbai port. It has been renamed as Deendayal Port in 2017. Mumbai is the biggest port with a spacious natural and well-sheltered harbor. The Jawaharlal Nehru(JN) port in Mumbai was planned with a view to decongesting the Mumbai port.  Moving down in Goa we can find the Mormugao port. Mormugao port is India’s premier iron- ore exporting port. It accounts for about fifty percent of India’s iron ore export. The New Mangalore port, located in Karnataka used to caters the export of iron ore concentrates from Kudremukh mines. The Kudremukh mine, one of the largest iron ore mines in the world is closed in 2005.  The Cochin Port is the extreme south-western port, located at the entrance of a lagoon with a natural harbor.

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 Facts about the Ports in India

• Port Blair port in Andaman Nicobar Islands is the 13th and the youngest major port of India declared so in 2010.
• Kolkata is an inland riverine port in Hooghly river. This port serves a very large and rich hinterland of Ganga- Brahmaputra basin. Kolkata Port is a tidal port. Haldia Port is a subsidiary port of the Kolkata Port. It has twin dock system, Kolkata Dock System (KDS) on the eastern bank and Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) on the western bank of  Hooghly river.
• Paradip Port located at the convergence of river Mahanadi in Bay of Bengal in Odisha.
• Vishakhapatnam is the deepest landlocked and well-protected port.
• Ennore Port named as Kamarajar Port Limited. It is the first corporate port of India and is registered as a public company.
• Tuticorin Port is renamed as V.O. Chidambaranar Port. Tuticorin Port located in the Gulf of Mannar and it is the only port in South India to provide a direct weekly container service to the United States of America.
• Chennai Port is the largest port at the east coast(in the Bay of Bengal) and second-largest port of India after Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai. Chennai is one of the oldest artificial ports in the country. It is ranked next to Mumbai in terms of the volume of trade and cargo.

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• Cochin Port lies on two islands in the Lake of Kochi: Willingdon Island and Vallarpadam, towards the Fort Kochi river mouth opening onto the Laccadive Sea(Lakshadweep Sea).
• New Mangalore Port is at Panambur in Karnataka at Gurupura river confluence with the Arabian Sea.
• Mormugao Port in Goa is India’s premier iron ore exporting port.
• Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) also is known as the Nhava Sheva, is the largest container port in India. Nhava and Sheva are the villages near the port. JNPT is located on the eastern shore of Mumbai harbor off Elephanta Island and is accessed via Thane Creek.
• Mumbai Port is one of the oldest modern ports of India.
• Deendayal Port in Gujarat is known for handling the crude oil imports of India.
• Lothal Port in Gujarat is considered as the oldest port in India. It was operational during the Indus valley civilization.
• Ports in India is included in the Concurrent List of the Constitution.

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The Central Government has started various initiatives for the development of Ports in India. Some of them are listed below.

GOI initiatives on Ports

• According to the Union Budget 2020-21, the fund allocation  for the Ministry of Shipping has raised to      Rs.1,800 crore (US$ 257.22 million)
• Major Port Authorities Bill 2020 was introduced in the Loksabha, which intends to provide regulation, operation and planning of major ports in India.
• Project UNNATI was started by the Government of India to identify opportunity areas to improve operations of key ports.
• The Shipping Ministry launched a dispute redressal portal, ‘SAROD-Ports’ (Society for Affordable Redressal of Disputes – Ports) to help develop confidence in the private sector, as ports are shifting to landlord models.
• In October 2020, Union Minister Mr. Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the ‘Direct Port Entry Facility’ at the V.O. Chidambaranar port. This facility will enable direct movement of containers from factories, without intermediate handling at any CFS (Container Freight Station), facilitating shippers to get their exports directly to the container terminal (24×7), thereby increasing efficiency and ease of doing business.
• The Ministry of Shipping launched an indigenous software solution for vessel traffic services (VTS) and vessels traffic monitoring systems (VTMS) in October 2020.
• To boost ship building, in line with the ‘Make in India’ policy of the the Ministry of Shipping reviewed the ROFR (Right of First Refusal) licensing conditions in October 2020 for chartering vessels/ships through the tender process for all types of requirements. To promote the demand for ships built in India, priority for chartering of vessels is given to vessels built in India, flagged  in India and owned by Indians as per amendments in the guidelines of ROFR (Right of First Refusal).

FAQ’s on Indian Ports

• In which state Marmgoa Port located?

Ans: Goa

• In which year Kandla Port was renamed as Deendayal Port?

Ans: 2017

• What was the old name of V.O Chidamabarnar Port?

Ans: Tuticorin Port

• Name of initiative started by GOI to develop Ports in India

Ans: UNNATI

• Which is the largest Port in India?

Ans: Jawaharlal Nehru Port

• Which is the busiest Port in India?

Ans: Jawaharlal Nehru Port

• Which is the first port in Independent India?

Ans: Kandla Port

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Conclusion

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