Important Ports in India – UPSC

In this article, You will read the List of Important Major Seaports and Minor Sea Ports in India – for UPSC IAS.

Important Ports in India

Mandvi :

• An ancient port and ship-building centre situated at Mandvi, in the northern coast of the Gulf of Kutch
• Well known for country craft construction from ancient time
• Export – Clay, bauxite, cotton, seeds, salt and oil cakes

Mundra :

• Located between Mandvi and Kandla on the coast of the Gulf of Kutch , is the largest private port in India
• Capable of handling more than 100 million tonnes of bulk, liquid and containarised cargo.
• Integral part of a SEZ
• Tata Power is building an UMPP here

Kandla :

• Located in the eastern corner of the Gulf of Kutch, one of the major ports of the western coast
• Constructed in 1950s as the chief sea port serving western India, after the partition of India from Pakistan when port of Karachi went to Pakistan

Okha :

• Located at the western corner of the Kathiawar Peninsula
• It is a minor port
• Has cement plants and an automobile – assembly plant
• Fishing and salt processing

Sikka :

• Located at near Jaunagar in the Kathiawar Peninsula , is a minor port of Gujarat
• It is all weather direct berthing port
• Offers excellent tranquility conditions for the safe opearations of the vessels

Porbandar :

• An all weather port with direct berthing conveniences , faces the Arabian Sea and located along the west coast of Saurashtra
• Wharfs for streamer are available
• Connected by a broad guage railway

Veraval :

• Fair weather lighterage port , situated in the south-western coast of Saurashtra
• Designed mainly for fishing
• Developed during the 18th century

Kodinar :

• City and municipality in the Junagarh district of Saurashtra region
• Located between Somnath (West) and Diu (East)
• Nearest important port is the Veraval Port

Alang :

• Port city on the eastern coast of Saurashtra, in the Bahvnagar district
• One of the largest shipbreaking yards of the world.
• Shot into news when the French aircraft carrier Clemenceau was prohibited by the Supreme Court of India to enter in the port in 2006

Bhavnagar :

• Located in the west coast of the Gulf of Khambhat in the eastern Kathiawar Peninsula
• 10 km away from the Bhavnagar city
• An all weather berthing port of small vessels
• Vessels jetty must pass through the lock Gate Door

Bharuch :

• Important port of Gujarat, located at the mouth of the Narmada River in the east coast of the Gulf of Khambhat
• Dahej Port is located near to it
• Handle the trade of petrochemicals

Alibag :

• Located just 19 km at sea from the south Mumbai
• No significant port facility
• Comes under the Raigarh district
• Called as Mini Goa of Maharashtra
• Tourism is the mainstay of its economy

Ratnagiri :

• Most important port of the southern coast of Maharashtra
• Handles trade of minerals and other commodities
• Marine Biological Research Station for fishery
• Bharati Shipyard Limited is located here.

Karwar :

• Minor port and coastal city of Karnataka
• Located near the mouth of the Kalindi River.
• Headquarters of the Uttar Kannada district.
• Karwar port plays a major role in the sea trade, fishing and maritime services of the nation.
• Located on the NH-66 and the Konkan Railway.
• Mountain towards sea protects it and makes it one of the best ports of the world.

Uduppi :

• A minor port and coastal city of Karnataka to the north of Mengaluru , near the mouth of the Sita River
• Located on the NH-66 and the Konkan Railway
• Has the highest average per-capita income in the state according to a survey by a private firm
• Known for the Krishna Matt

Kasargod :

• Located near the mouth of the Payaswani River in the northern part of Kerala
• A minor port and the northernmost of the important cities of Kerala
• Agro –based industries are found
• Helped by the NH-66, the Konkan Railway and the West Coast Road

Kannur :

• Minor port and coastal city of Kerala , located north of Mahe (Puducherry)
• Centre of the Moplah community of Arab descent
• Mainly agri-based industries
• Helped by the NH-66 and the Konkan Railway

Mumbai Port :

• A natural deep water harbour and major port located in the eastern edge of the Mumbai City
• Nhava Sheva (on Navi Mumbai ) was created to relieve off its pressure
• It has been the gateway to India and was the contributing factor in the emergence of Mumbai as the commercial capital of India

Nhava Sheva (JNPT):

• Also named as Jawaharlal Nehru Port
• Lies on the mainland, opposite the city of Mumbai across the Thane Creek
• Located close to the Elephanta Island
• Created to reduce pressure on the Mumbai Port and increase the shipping capacity of Mumbai
• Most modernised and the largest port of India
• The port handles 65% of India’s container traffic
• Has three terminals: JNCPT, NSICT, GTI
• NSICT is India’s first privately managed container terminal

Mangalore :

• A major port city in the southern part of Canara Coast, located near the mouth of the Kumardhar River
• Upgraded in the Fourth Five Year Plan
• Hinterland – Karnataka , northern Kerala
• Export : Tea, coffee, spices, iron ore
• Import – Petroleum, fertilizers, edible oils
• Petroleum refinery
• Facility of the NH-66 and the Konkan Railway

Mahe :

• Exclave of Puducherry, located on the Malabar Coast as an enclave of Kannur district of Kerala
• minor port
• Agri- based industries, fishing, tourism
• Aided by the NH-66

Kozhikode :

• Also known as Calicut, is the third largest city of Kerala
• Ancient and Middle Ages – ‘City of Spices’.
• Declared the country’s first hunger free city
• Vasco da Gama reached here in 1498
• Was famous for trade of spices in the old times
• Located on the NH-66

Alapuzha (Aleppy) :

• City on the Malabar Coast, to the southwest of the Vembanad Lake
• minor port
• Centre of coir, coconut, and cashewnut processing.
• Served by an inland waterway system stretching from Kochi to Kollam

Ernakulam :

• Located on the shore of the Vembanand Lake, opposite of Kochi
• Seat of the Kerala High Court
• An important port, engineering and ship building

Kottayam :

• Located in the south-east corner of the Vembanand Lake
• First tobacco free district in India
• Hub of inland navigable water system
• Newsprinting, rubber, cement, chemicals
• Headquarter of Malyalam Manorama
• In 1989 became first municipality of India to achieve 100% literacy

Kollam :

• Formerly known as Quilon, located on the coast of the Asthamudi Lake
• Trading port during the Greek and Roman times.
• Beach sands are processed for rare earth
• Industries – Aluminium, cashewnut processing, procelain and ceramics

Kochi :

• Major port at the mouth of the Vembanand Lake
• Traditional seaport even during the Roman Period
• Many islands
• Naval Command Centre and Coast Guard District Headquarters
• Natural harbour, shipbuilding, oil refinery
• Export : Tea, coffee, spices/ Import-Oil, fertilizers

Kanniyakumari :

• Located at the Cape Comorin in Tamil Nadu
• A minor port, and religious and tourist place
• National Highway-44
• Agri–based industries
• Kudankulam Nuclear Reactor is located nearby it

Colachel Seaport :

• Colachel International Seaport also known as Enayam port, is proposed (and located in Colachel, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu) into a major port transforming it into India’s southern trans-shipment gateway.
• The Port is proposed at Colachel, 19 km away from Nagercoil, capital of Kanyakumari District.
• Colachel is already a natural harbour.

Tuticorin :

• A major port on the coast of the Gulf of Mannar
• A new port has been developed about 8km southwest of the old port
• Handles the traffic of coal, salt, food grains, edible oils, sugar and petroleum products
• Location of a new oil refinery

Vedaranniyam :

• A minor port near the Point Calimere , the apex of the Kaveri Delta
• Economy : salt manufacturing , fishing, salt water prown, agriculture
• Salt March on 30 April 1930 – Trichy to Vedaranniyam by Rajgopalchari
• Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary

Dhanushkodi :

• A small town located in the eastern part of the Pamban Island
• 1964 cyclone destroyed the railway line that connected India with Sri Lanka
• According to Hindu scriptures at the request of Vibeeshana, Rama broke the sethu with one end of his bow, so it is named Dhanushkodi
• It is said that the pilgrimage to Kashi is completed only when followed by a holy bath at Dhanushkodi

Nagapattinam :

• A minor port on the Kaveri Delta, south of Karaikal (Puducherry)
• Industries – Textiles, leather goods, oil extractions
• Fishing is main industry
• One of the best harbours in the country
• A major pilgrimage centre of Hindus, Muslims and Christians

Yanam :

• A district and distant territory (exclave) of Puducherry, located in Andhra Padesh between the deltas of Godavari and Krishna
• Rice cultivation, agro based industries
• Tourism is significant
• A 30 km enclave in the East Godavari district

Srikakulam :

• A minor port and coastal city of Andhra Padesh, to north-east of Vishakhapatnam
• Once the capital of the of the Northern Circar
• Located on the National Highway-16 (previously NH-5) and the Chennai Kolkata main rail line.
• Known for many temples.

Karaikal :

• Territory of Puducherry on the Coromandel Coast of Tamil Nadu, to the south of Puducherry
• Bounded by the Nagapattnam (north and south)
• Was a French colony and a minor trading hub
• Known for its rich cultural heritage

Cuddalore :

• A minor port on the Coromandel Coast of Tamil Nadu, at the mouth of the Ponnaiyar River.
• A few kms south of Puducherry
• Known for its picturesque beaches, especially the Silver Beach
• Neyveli Lignite Corporation is located near to it.
• The city is fast emerging as an industrial city.

Puducherry :

• Main part of the Union Territory of Puducherry, located on the Coromandel Coast midway between Chennai and Point Calimere
• Former French colony still has its imprints
• Auroville is world famous
  • Auroville is a universal city (experimental township) in the making in south-India dedicated to the ideal of human unity based on the vision of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.

Machilipatnam :

• Located in the northeastern part of the Krishna Delta, as a minor seaport and headquarter of the Krishna District
• Port from the old time, has a long history
• It is being developed to reduce the pressure on the Vishakapatnam

Gopalpur :

• Important sea beach and coastal town located in the southwestern part of Orissa
• Its beach with coconut groves is characterised with sand dunes for several kms.
• Often affected by the tropical cyclones
• Has an ancient commercial port, now lying in ruins
• Became prominant port during the British Rule

Kakinada :

• A minor seaport and the headquarters of the East Godavari District, located in the north-western part of the Koringa Bay
• One of the safest ports in the east coast of India due to the presence of a small island called Hope Island
• Kakinada is the sixth largest city of Andhra Pradesh.
• Most well planned city in Asia after Chandigarh.

Krishnapatnam :

• Important port of Andhra Padesh in the Nellore district
• Krishnapatnam Port popularly known as KPCL is a privately built and owned all weather, deep water port on the east coast.
• Iron ore and granite are exported
• Site of 4000 MW UMPP (Ultra Mega Power Project) awarded to the Reliance Power

Vishakhapatnam :

• The deepest land locked and protected port on the Andhra Coast
• A major port, handles the traffic of iron ore, coal, oil, fertilizers, agri products etc.
• Ship building and repairing facility
• Headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Indian Navy
• Steel, petrochemical and fertilizers plants

Ganjam :

• A minor port and coastal city in Orissa, to the southwest of the Chilka Lake
• Agro–based industries, fishing, salt and fish processing
• National Highway-16 (previously NH-5) and Chennai–Kolkata rail line pass through it

Paradeep :

• A major port located at the northeastern corner of the Mahanadi Delta
• A deep water and all weather port
• Constructed during the Second Five Year Plan.
• Handles the traffic of iron ore, coal, and other dry cargos.
• Iron exported to Japan.

Dhamra :

• Located to the northeast of Paradeep in Orissa.
• Dhamra Port will become the deepest port of India with a drought of 18 metres, which can accommodate super cape- size vessels upto 180,000DWT.
• Awarded responsibility to the Dhamra Port Company Ltd. A 50:50 joint venture of L&T and Tata Steel

Chandippur :

• A minor seaport in the northeastern part of Orissa
• Its beach is unique in that the water recedes about one to four kms during the ebb and returns at the time of the high tide
• Location of the Indian Army’s Integrated Test Range (ITR)
• A number of missiles have been launched from the ITR including Akash, Agni, Shaurya and Prithvi

Diamond Harbour :

• It is located quite near where the Hooghly river meets the bay of Bengal.
• It was earlier a stronghold of the Portuguese pirates.
• It is minor port as well as a happening tourist spot.