Important Ports in India

• This is the atlas list of India’s ports, major and minor, set out coast by coast and State by State from Kachchh round to the Hooghly.
• The older count was 13 major and about 200 minor ports. India now has 12 operational major seaports, with Vadhavan and Galathea Bay notified and under construction, and over 200 notified minor and intermediate ports, of which 60–68 work as non-major ports.
• About 95% of foreign trade by volume and 70% by value moves by sea (2026). Older accounts give 90% by volume.
  • Major ports once handled about 58% of cargo. Together, major and non-major ports handled 1,597.27 million tonnes in 2024–25.
  • The coastline was long given as about 7,517 km and was re-assessed at 11,098.81 km in 2025.
• Who controls them: the Centre runs the major ports, and the States run the rest, through maritime boards and port departments.
• Cargo at major ports was long split as bulk 44%, liquid 33% and container 23%. The older count of 13 major ports set 7 on the eastern coast and 6 on the western.
• These ports join ocean transport to the inland waterways, which run from National Waterway 1 on the Ganga to the backwaters of Keralam.

Ports at a Glance

• On this map, Karaikal should lie south of Puducherry and Cuddalore, on the Coromandel Coast near Nagapattinam.

West Coast Ports

Gujarat

• Mandvi (Kachchh district): an ancient port and ship-building centre on the northern coast of the Gulf of Kachchh (Kutch).
  • Well known for country craft construction since ancient times.
  • Exports: clay, bauxite, cotton, seeds, salt and oil cakes.
• Mundra (Kachchh district): between Mandvi and Kandla on the Gulf of Kachchh, and long called the largest private port in India.
  • Its capacity was first quoted at more than 100 million tonnes of bulk, liquid and containerised cargo.
  • In 2024–25 it became the first Indian port to handle 200 million tonnes in a year (200.7), more than any major port.
  • It is an integral part of a special economic zone (SEZ).
  • Tata Power’s Ultra Mega Power Project here, of 4,000 MW, was commissioned in units from 2012.
  • It is also the head of the 1,054 km Mundra–Delhi petroleum products pipeline, dedicated in February 2009.
• Deendayal Port (Kandla) (Kachchh district): at the eastern end of the Gulf of Kachchh, about 48 km from Bhuj, and a major port of the western coast.
  • Built in the 1950s (construction dated to 1951) as the chief sea port of western India, after Partition, when the port of Karachi went to Pakistan.
  • Renamed in 2017. It handled 160.11 million tonnes in 2025–26, the most among major ports, and it is known for much of India’s crude oil imports.
• Okha (Devbhumi Dwarka district): a minor port at the western corner of the Kathiawar Peninsula.
  • It has cement plants and an automobile-assembly plant.
  • Fishing and salt processing.
• Sikka (Jamnagar district): a minor port of Gujarat near Jamnagar, in the Kathiawar Peninsula.
  • An all-weather, direct-berthing port, with excellent tranquillity for the safe operation of vessels.
  • It serves the industries and oil trade of the Gulf of Kachchh shore.
• Porbandar (Porbandar district): an all-weather port with direct berthing, facing the Arabian Sea on the west coast of Saurashtra.
  • Wharves for steamers are available.
  • It is connected by a broad-gauge railway, and it is the western end of the East–West Corridor, NH-27.
• Veraval (Gir Somnath district): a fair-weather lighterage port on the south-western coast of Saurashtra.
  • Designed mainly for fishing.
  • Developed during the 18th century.
• Kodinar (Gir Somnath district): a city and municipality in the Saurashtra region, formerly in Junagadh district.
  • Located between Somnath in the west and Diu in the east.
  • Its nearest important port is Veraval.
• Alang (Bhavnagar district): a port city on the eastern coast of Saurashtra, and one of the largest shipbreaking yards of the world.
  • It came into the news in 2006, when the Supreme Court of India barred the French aircraft carrier Clemenceau from entering the port.
• Bhavnagar (Bhavnagar district): on the western coast of the Gulf of Khambhat, in the eastern Kathiawar Peninsula, 10 km from the city.
  • An all-weather berthing port for small vessels.
  • Vessels bound for the jetty must pass through a lock gate.
• Bharuch (Bharuch district): an important port at the mouth of the Narmada, on the east coast of the Gulf of Khambhat.
  • Dahej Port lies near it.
  • It handles the trade of petrochemicals.
• Hazira (Surat district): a non-major port on the Gulf of Khambhat shore. It is the western end of NH-53, and it serves industry around Surat.

Maharashtra

• Alibag (Raigad district): just 19 km by sea from south Mumbai.
  • It has no significant port facility.
  • It is called the Mini Goa of Maharashtra, and tourism is the mainstay of its economy.
• Mumbai Port: a natural deep-water harbour and major port on the eastern edge of Mumbai city.
  • Nhava Sheva, on the Navi Mumbai side, was created to relieve the pressure on it.
  • It has been the gateway to India, and a main reason for the rise of Mumbai as the country’s commercial capital. The Suez Canal (1869) brought it much closer to Europe.
  • The site was earlier used by the navies of Shivaji.
• Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru Port, JNPT): on the mainland, opposite Mumbai across Thane Creek, close to Elephanta Island.
  • Created to reduce pressure on Mumbai Port and raise its shipping capacity. It opened on 26 May 1989.
  • Long described as the most modernised and the largest port of India. It is now the leading container port among the major ports, and it handled 102.01 million tonnes in 2025–26.
  • It handled 65% of India’s container traffic in the older count. It handled 7.30 of 13.53 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) at major ports in 2024–25.
  • The three early terminals were JNPCT, NSICT and GTI, and more have been added since. NSICT was India’s first privately managed container terminal.
• Vadhavan (Palghar district): an “all weather, all cargo” deep-draft satellite port of Jawaharlal Nehru Port, under construction, and notified as the 13th major port.
  • Its foundation was laid on 30 August 2024. It follows the landlord model, through a special purpose vehicle led by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority.
  • It is meant to put India among the top 10 container-port countries.
• Ratnagiri (Ratnagiri district): the most important port of the southern coast of Maharashtra.
  • It handles trade in minerals and other commodities.
  • It has a Marine Biological Research Station for fisheries, and a yard of Bharati Shipyard Limited.

Goa

• Mormugao: on the estuary of the Zuari, a natural harbour and the major port of Goa.
  • Long the leading iron-ore exporting port of India, it is now the smallest major port by traffic, at 20.84 million tonnes in 2025–26.

Karnataka

• Karwar (Uttara Kannada district): a minor port and coastal city, near the mouth of the Kali (Kalindi) River.
  • Headquarters of Uttara Kannada district.
  • It plays a role in the sea trade, fishing and maritime services of the nation.
  • Located on NH-66 and the Konkan Railway.
  • A mountain towards the sea protects it, which has earned it the name of one of the best harbours of the world.
• Udupi (Uduppi) (Udupi district): a minor port and coastal city to the north of Mangaluru, near the mouth of the Sita River.
  • Located on NH-66 and the Konkan Railway.
  • A private firm’s survey once gave it the highest average per-capita income in the State.
  • Known for the Krishna Matha.
• New Mangalore (Mangaluru): a major port in the southern part of the Canara Coast, at Panambur, north of the Gurupura river mouth and near the Netravati, which the Kumaradhara feeds.
  • Declared a major port on 4 May 1974, with its upgrading dated to the Fourth Five Year Plan.
  • Hinterland: Karnataka and northern Keralam.
  • Exports: tea, coffee, spices and iron ore. Imports: petroleum, fertilisers and edible oils.
  • It has a petroleum refinery, and it has the facility of NH-66 and the Konkan Railway.

Keralam and Mahe

• Kasaragod (Kasargod) (Kasaragod district): near the mouth of the Payaswini River in the northern part of Keralam.
  • A minor port, and the northernmost of the State’s important cities.
  • Agro-based industries are found here.
  • Helped by NH-66, the Konkan Railway and the West Coast Road.
• Kannur (Kannur district): a minor port and coastal city, north of Mahe (Puducherry).
  • A centre of the Moplah (Mappila) community, with its historic Arab links.
  • Mainly agri-based industries.
  • Helped by NH-66 and the Konkan Railway.
• Mahe: an exclave of Puducherry, on the Malabar Coast, as an enclave of Kannur district of Keralam.
  • A minor port with agri-based industries, fishing and tourism, aided by NH-66.
• Kozhikode (Calicut) (Kozhikode district): the third-largest city of Keralam on the 2011 Census count of its municipal corporations.
  • Called the City of Spices in ancient and medieval times, famous for the old spice trade.
  • Vasco da Gama reached here in 1498.
  • Declared the country’s first hunger-free city. It is located on NH-66.
• Alappuzha (Alleppey) (Alappuzha district): a city on the Malabar Coast, to the south-west of Vembanad Lake, and a minor port.
  • A centre of coir, coconut and cashew-nut processing.
  • Served by an inland waterway system stretching from Kochi to Kollam.
• Ernakulam: on the shore of Vembanad Lake, opposite Kochi, and the seat of the State’s High Court.
  • An important port, with engineering and shipbuilding.
• Kottayam (Kottayam district): at the south-east corner of Vembanad Lake, and a hub of the inland navigable water system.
  • In 1989 it became the first municipality in India to achieve 100% literacy.
  • India’s first tobacco-free district.
  • Newsprint, rubber, cement and chemicals.
  • Headquarters of the newspaper Malayala Manorama.
• Kollam (Quilon) (Kollam district): on the coast of Ashtamudi Lake, a trading port during Greek and Roman times.
  • Beach sands are processed for rare earths.
  • Industries: aluminium, cashew-nut processing, porcelain and ceramics.
• Kochi: a major port at the mouth of Vembanad Lake, a traditional seaport even in the Roman period, among many islands.
  • A natural harbour, with shipbuilding and an oil refinery, on Willingdon Island and Vallarpadam, near the crossroads of the east–west ocean trade.
  • It is called the natural gateway to the industrial and farm markets of south-west India.
  • A naval command centre and Coast Guard district headquarters.
  • Exports: tea, coffee and spices. Imports: oil and fertilisers.
• Vizhinjam (Thiruvananthapuram district): a deep-water transshipment port and a non-major port of the State, dedicated on 2 May 2025.

East Coast Ports

Tamil Nadu

• Kanniyakumari (Kanniyakumari district): at Cape Comorin, a minor port, and a religious and tourist place.
  • It is the southern end of NH-44.
  • Agri-based industries.
  • The Kudankulam nuclear plant lies nearby.
• Colachel Seaport (Kanniyakumari district): the Colachel International Seaport, also known as Enayam port, proposed for development into a major port and India’s southern transshipment gateway.
  • Colachel is 19 km from Nagercoil, the capital of Kanniyakumari district.
  • It is already a natural harbour.
  • The Union Cabinet gave in-principle approval in July 2016, and fishing communities opposed it. It is outside the country’s 12 operational and two notified new major ports (2026).
• V. O. Chidambaranar Port (Tuticorin, Thoothukudi): a major port on the coast of the Gulf of Mannar, and an artificial one.
  • The new port lies about 8 km south-west of the old one.
  • It handles coal, salt, foodgrains, edible oils, sugar and petroleum products.
  • It has been listed as the location of a new oil refinery, and it has been the south’s port with a direct weekly container service to the United States.
• Vedaranyam (Vedaranniyam) (Nagapattinam district): a minor port near Point Calimere, the apex of the Kaveri Delta.
  • Economy: salt manufacture, fishing, saltwater prawns and agriculture.
  • Salt March: C. Rajagopalachari led it from Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) to Vedaranyam, where it arrived on 30 April 1930.
  • Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary lies here.
• Dhanushkodi (Ramanathapuram district): a small town in the eastern part of Pamban Island.
  • The 1964 cyclone destroyed the railway line that linked India with Sri Lanka.
  • In Hindu tradition, Rama broke the sethu with one end of his bow at the request of Vibhishana (Vibeeshana), which gives the place its name.
  • Tradition holds that the pilgrimage to Kashi is complete only with a holy bath here.
• Nagapattinam (Nagapattinam district): a minor port on the Kaveri Delta, south of Karaikal (Puducherry).
  • Fishing is the main industry. Others are textiles, leather goods and oil extraction.
  • Long described as one of the best harbours in the country.
  • A pilgrimage centre of Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
• Cuddalore (Cuddalore district): a minor port on the Coromandel Coast, at the mouth of the Ponnaiyar River, a few kilometres south of Puducherry.
  • Known for its beaches, especially Silver Beach.
  • Neyveli Lignite Corporation lies nearby, and the city is growing into an industrial centre.
• Chennai: an artificial harbour and major port, long ranked the largest on the Bay of Bengal and second to JNPT among container ports.
• Kamarajar Port (Ennore): north of Chennai, India’s first corporate port, registered as a public company. The Government’s stake, often given as 68%, passed to Chennai Port in March 2020.

Puducherry

• Karaikal: a territory of Puducherry on the Coromandel Coast of Tamil Nadu, to the south of Puducherry town.
  • Bounded by the Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai districts of Tamil Nadu.
  • It was a French colony and a minor trading hub, known for its rich cultural heritage.
• Puducherry: the main part of the Union Territory, on the Coromandel Coast, midway between Chennai and Point Calimere.
  • This former French colony still carries its imprint.
  • Auroville is world famous: a universal experimental township, dedicated to human unity on the vision of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.
• Yanam: a district and distant exclave of Puducherry, in Andhra Pradesh, in the Godavari delta.
  • Rice cultivation and agro-based industries.
  • Tourism is significant.
  • An enclave of about 30 sq km, surrounded by Andhra Pradesh’s former East Godavari district.

Andhra Pradesh

• Krishnapatnam (Nellore district): an important port, popularly known by its company, KPCL.
  • A privately built, all-weather, deep-water port on the east coast, under Adani Ports’ control since 2020.
  • Iron ore and granite are exported.
  • It is the site of the 4,000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project awarded to Reliance Power, on which work stopped in 2011.
• Machilipatnam (Krishna district): in the north-eastern part of the Krishna Delta, a minor seaport and district headquarters.
  • A port from old times, with a long history.
  • It is being developed to relieve pressure on Visakhapatnam.
• Kakinada (Kakinada district): a minor seaport and district headquarters, long of East Godavari district, in the north-western part of Koringa Bay.
  • One of the safest ports on the east coast, because of a small island called Hope Island.
  • Listed as the sixth-largest city of the State, and described as the most well-planned city in Asia after Chandigarh.
• Visakhapatnam (Vishakhapatnam): long described as the deepest land-locked and protected port, on the Andhra Coast.
  • A major port, handling iron ore, coal, oil, fertilisers and farm products, and much of the east coast’s bulk cargo.
  • Shipbuilding and ship repair.
  • Headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command.
  • Steel, petrochemical and fertiliser plants.
• Srikakulam (Srikakulam district): a minor port and coastal city, to the north-east of Visakhapatnam.
  • Once the capital of the Northern Circars.
  • Located on NH-16 (previously NH-5) and the Chennai–Kolkata main rail line.
  • Known for its many temples.

Odisha and West Bengal

• Ganjam (Ganjam district): a minor port and coastal city in Odisha (Orissa), to the south-west of Chilika Lake.
  • Agro-based industries, fishing, and salt and fish processing.
  • NH-16 (previously NH-5) and the Chennai–Kolkata rail line pass through it.
• Gopalpur (Ganjam district): an important beach and coastal town in southern Odisha.
  • Its beach, with coconut groves, has sand dunes for several kilometres.
  • It is often affected by tropical cyclones.
  • An ancient commercial port, which became prominent under British rule and later lay in ruins.
• Paradip (Paradeep) (Jagatsinghpur district): a major port at the north-eastern corner of the Mahanadi Delta.
  • An artificial, deep-water, all-weather port, dated to the Second Five Year Plan in older lists and opened on 12 March 1966. It was the first major port commissioned on the east coast after Independence.
  • It handles iron ore, coal and other dry cargo, and iron ore has been exported to Japan.
• Dhamra (Bhadrak district): to the north-east of Paradip.
  • Planned as the deepest port of India, with a draught of 18 metres, for super-cape vessels up to 1,80,000 DWT.
  • The responsibility went to the Dhamra Port Company Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture of L&T and Tata Steel. Adani Ports took it over in May 2014.
• Chandipur (Chandippur) (Balasore district): a minor seaport in north-eastern Odisha.
  • Its beach is unique: the water recedes about one to four kilometres at ebb and returns at high tide.
  • It houses the Integrated Test Range (ITR) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, once given as the Indian Army’s.
  • Missiles launched from the ITR include Akash, Agni, Shaurya and Prithvi.
• Diamond Harbour (South 24 Parganas district): near where the Hooghly meets the Bay of Bengal.
  • It was earlier a stronghold of Portuguese pirates.
  • A minor port, and a popular tourist spot.
• Kolkata (Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port): the only riverine major port, with its twin dock systems: Kolkata on the eastern bank and Haldia on the western bank of the Hooghly.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

• Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair): renamed on 13 September 2024, the main port of the islands.
• Galathea Bay (Great Nicobar): a transshipment port under construction, notified as a major port on 4 September 2024.