Major ports in India

India has a total of 13 major ports and close to 200 notified minor and intermediate ports. Ports play a vital role in the economic development of a nation. About 95% by volume and 70% by value of India's international trade is carried out by sea transport.

Major ports in India:

The major ports are:

• Kolkata Port
• Paradip Port
• New Mangalore Port
• Cochin Port
• Jawaharlal Nehru Port Mumbai Port
• Kandla Port
• Vishakhapatnam Port
• Chennai Port
• Tuticorin Port
• Ennore Port
• Marmagao Port
• Port Blair Port
• Krishnapatnam Port ( KPCT ) – Private Port.

MAJOR PORTS IN DETAIL:

There are nine coastal states in India - viz, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal which are home to all major and minor ports of India. The long coastline of India forms one of the biggest piece of land into a body of water. These twelve major Indian Ports handle a large volume of cargo traffic and container traffic.

There are total 13 major sea ports in India, out of which 12 are governmental and one, Ennore port of Chennai is privately owned. Ennore Port is one of the major ports of India located at Coromandel Coast of Tamil Nadu state along with Kakinada Port. The Krishnapatnam Port and Mundra Port are other privately owned ports. The 12 major ports of India which are listed are as follows.

Kandla Port- Gujarat

Gujarat host the major seaport of west coast. The Kandla Port is situated on the Gulf of Kutch near the Gandhidham city in Kutch District of Gujarat. The Port of Kandla is the first special economic zone in India as well as in Asia.

Major imports: petroleum, chemicals and iron
Major export : grains, salt and textiles

 Port of Kandla is one of the highest earning ports of India, another port in Gujarat is Mundra Port - India’s largest private port.

Nhava Sheva- Maharashtra

Nhava Sheva now known as Jawaharlal Nehru Port is the largest container port in India, situated at the mainland of Konkan area across the Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. Jawaharlal Nehru Port is the king port of Arabian Sea at west coast and handle a large volume of international container traffic and domestic cargo traffic. 

Major imports: machinery, vegetable oils and chemicals.
Major exports: textiles, carpets, boneless meat 

Jawaharlal Nehru Port is the largest container port in India. It is located east of Mumbai on an island called Nhava Sheva. The port is named after the first prime minister of India. The main purpose of the construction of the port is to reduce the amount of traffic from the port of Mumbai. The port is highly mechanized and uses the latest technology to handle containers. It is the third busiest port in India with an annual cargo volume of 64 million tons.

Mumbai Port

The Mumbai Port is located in the mainland of west Mumbai on the West coast of India with natural deep-water harbour. Mumbai Port is the largest port in India and handles bulk cargo traffic with its four jetties for handling Liquid chemicals, Crude and petroleum products. International container traffic of Mumbai Port is directed to the new and big Nhava Sheva port.

The port of Bombay (Mumbai) is a deep-water cargo port that handles about 20 percent of India’s cargo. It is located on a magnificent natural harbour that is about 10-12 meters deep. Large ships can easily enter the harbour and leave. The port specializes in mineral oil from Gulf countries and dry cargo. 

Major Export:  cotton, textile, manganese, tobacco, and machinery 
 Major import:  crude oil, raw cotton, instruments, machinery, and drugs.
Annual cargo: volume of 61 million tons

Marmagao Port- Goa

The main port of Goa, Marmagao port is a best natural harbours of India located in South Goa. The port of Marmagao is one of the major attraction of Goa . It is one of India’s earliest modern ports and a natural harbour.

Major Export: Iron ores and other raw materials

Panambur Port- Karnataka

Panambur Port known as the New Mangalore Port, is a seaport located near to Surathkal railway station in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. New Mangalore Port is a deep water all weather port and the only major port of Karnataka and one of the largest port in India.

There is a beautiful beach at south of sea port of Panambur along the shores of the Arabian Sea.

Major imports: timber logs, LPG, petroleum products and cargo containers.

Major export:  manganese, granite stones, coffee and cashew

Cochin Port- Kerala

The Cochin port is one of the largest port in India and the major port on the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean sea route. The port of Cochin lies on two islands of Willingdon and Vallarpadam and the largest container transshipment facility in India. Kochi Port is equipped with maritime facilities, Cochin Shipyard, Kochi Refineries and Kochi Marina.

Kochi city is famous for its traditional spices and well known as the port city of Fort Kochi during the European colonials. It also get its individual Kochi international airport, third international airport in the state of Kerala.

Port Blair- Andaman

Port Blair is the capital city of Andaman Nicobar Islands, a Union Territory of India located at the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. Port Blair is the youngest sea port in India and one of the 12 major port of the country. The only port of Andaman Islands that is connected to mainland of India through flight and ship.

Port Blair is the principal hub for shipping in the islands of Andaman and the one of the most popular tourist destination with several places of interest around like virgin beaches, scuba diving and water sports.

Tuticorin Port- Tamil Nadu

Tuticorin Port is an artificial deep-sea harbour and one of the 12 major ports of India. It is also the second largest port in Tamil Nadu and one of the largest container terminal in India. The artificial port of Tuticorin is an all-weather port and receives a large volume of international traffic.

Port of Tuticorin are a used to be best port for maritime trade and pearl fishery on the Bay of Bengal. The port city is also known as Pearl City and is one of the beautiful sea gateways of India from Tamil Nadu state.

Chennai Port

Madras Port or Chennai port is the one of the oldest ports of India and the second largest port in the country. Chennai Port also the largest port in the Bay of Bengal and a hub port for cars, big containers and cargo traffic in the east coast of India. 

Chennai Port terminals have lighthouses around, Intra port connectivity, Pipelines and well connected railway lines.
Cargo handled: containers, automobiles, coal, fertilizers and petroleum products

Vizag Port- Andhra Pradesh

The port city Visakhapatnam is located on the southeast coast of India in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Visakhapatnam or Vizag has one of the India’s largest seaport and the oldest shipyard of country. The Visakhapatnam harbour is the only Natural harbour in the Bay of Bengal shore. Kakinada Port is second port city in Andhra and Krishnapatnam Port is a privately built deep water port in Andhra Pradesh.

Visakhapatnam port is the second largest port in India by the volume of cargo handled. The port is located on the east coast between Chennai and Kolkata ports. Visakhapatnam port is built on the Andhra Pradesh coast and is the deepest landlocked port. The main cargo handled here includes f. There are arrangements to have the port handle crude oil and petroleum products. Currently, the port has an

Cargo handled: Fertilizers, iron ore, manganese ore, spices, wood, crude oil and petroleum products

Annual cargo:  volume of 64.2 million tons

Paradip Port- Orissa

The artificial, deep-water port of east coast of India is located in the Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa state. Port of Paradip is the major port in the east coast shore and situated at the confluence of great river Mahanadi and the Bay of Bengal. Paradip Port has its own railway system, cold storage handling plant and a national highway connecting the port with rest of Indian road networks.

Paradip port is the busiest cargo port in India with an  It is an artificial port that can be used in all weather conditions. Its great depth allows it to handle large bulks of cargo amounting to 60,000 DWT. Recently, the port was expanded, and construction of oil jetty was completed to handle petroleum products of volume up to 8 million tons.

Annual cargo: volume of 75.7 million tons.

Haldia Port- West Bengal

Haldia port or Kolkata Port is a major seaport situated near the Hooghly River in the state of West Bengal. Port of Haldia is one of the major trade center for Kolkata and receive bulk cargoes of Chemicals, Petrochemicals and oils. Port of Kolkata is also a base of Indian Coast Guard.

The port of Kolkata is the oldest operating port in India having been constructed during the British East India Company occupation. This riverine port is located on the bank of River Hooghly and is the main gateway to the East of India.

Major cargo handled: jute products, tea, steel, copper, iron ore, and leather products

Annual cargo: volume of 50 million tons.

Private port - KRISHNAPATNAM Port , Andhra Pradesh  ( KPCT ) 

Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. (KPCL) was formed by winning the mandate from the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh to develop the existing minor port into modern, deep water & high Productivity port, on BOST (Build–Operate-Share-Transfer) concession basis for 50 years. The port is being built in three phases. Post the completion of the first phase in a record time of 18 months, Krishnapatnam Port was dedicated to the nation on July 17, 2008. Currently the second phase of development is underway. Port has numerous strengths like its area, location, weather and the credentials of CVR Group which is promoting this port. It will soon be poised to become one of the biggest ports in the world.

The port is well on its way in becoming the largest automated port for exports and imports in South Asia. It is rated high on all the parameters of operations, including optimum cost, reliability, time and the best available service to customers.

Major Features of the port are:

• Fastest Turnaround Time for All Types of Vessels
• Minimal Waiting Time Leading to Almost Nil Demurrage
• Deep Draft Capable of Handling Capsize and Panamax Vessels, Leading to Significant Savings in Ocean Freight
• All Weather Port with 365 Days of Operations
• Round-The-Clock Navigation Without Any Restrictions
• Single Window Clearance :

                -Port Provides End-To-End Services from Stevedoring to Custom Documentation
                - No Inconvenience of Multiple Interfaces (CHA, Stevedores, Customs, Port)

• Huge Backup Area of 6,800 Acres
• Excellent Connectivity by Both Rail and Road to all parts of India