List of ports in India


In India, ports are categorised into major ports and non-major ports. As of 2024, the country has 14 major ports and 217 non-major ports. Major ports are administered by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways under the Government of India, whereas non-major ports fall under the jurisdiction of State Maritime Boards of respective state governments, including private ports operating under the public–private partnership model. Among the 217 non-major ports, cargo is handled only at 68 ports, others are used by fishing vessels and ferries.
India has a coastline of 11,098 kilometres, forming one of the largest peninsulas in the world. According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, around 95 percent of India's trading by volume and 70 percent by value is done through maritime transport. India's major ports handled highest ever cargo of 795 million tonne in FY23. Paradip Port is the largest container port in India.
Due to the shallow depth of its east coast ports, India is unable to accommodate large ships, causing 25% of its cargo to be diverted to deeper foreign ports and resulting in an annual economic loss of Rs 1,500-4,500 crore. In 2024, the upcoming International Container Transshipment Port, Galathea Bay was notified as India's 13th major port. Its first phase of development is expected to be commissioned in 2028. Port Blair, which was notified as a major port in 2010, was later removed. The ports are spread across Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Government of India plans to build new greenfield ports and also built associated infrastructure such as railway lines through the 2015 established Sagar Mala project, and National Maritime Development Program.

Shipping in India

According to Constitution of India, maritime transport is to be administered by both the Central and the State governments. While the central government's shipping ministry administers the major ports, the minor and intermediate ports are administered by the relevant departments or ministries in the nine coastal states of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Several of these 187 minor and intermediate ports have been identified by the respective governments to be developed, in a phased manner, a good proportion of them involving public–private partnership.
The maritime boards of state governments administer control of minor ports owned by state governments. In 2018–19, minor ports of Gujarat alone handled total 542 MMT of cargo. Maharashtra Maritime Board sets record of handling 71 mn tons of cargo in 2022–23.

Capacity

The capacity of Indian ports currently stands at 2,604.99 mtpa. The container throughput of Indian ports stood at 17 million TEUs for the period 2020. Mundra Port is the largest port as well as the highest capacity port in India, and it is also the largest container port by volume. It has a capacity to handle 338 MMT of cargo annually. Paradip Port has the 2nd highest cargo capacity of 150 MMT. Kandla Port has 3rd highest capacity.

Ship building

India has been building large ships after the independence using companies like Hindustan Shipyard, Pipavav Shipyard and Cochin Shipyard. SS Jala Usha, a steamship built by Hindustan Shipyard in 1948 and the first of its kind to be built within the Indian subcontinent after WW-II.The first oil tanker built by Cochin Shipyard Limited was the MV Rani Padmini, which was delivered in July 1981. India launched 93,000 DWT oil tanker in 2002 under Third Vajpayee ministry, The ship named Maharshi Parashuram built by Cochin Shipyard was 237 meter long double vessel was fitted with 14,300 HP engine. Abul Kalam Azad is another similar-size oil tanker ship built by Cochin Shipyard in 1999 which has been scrapped.

Ship breaking

, India has 30% share of ship breaking with annual US$1.1 billion revenue. India is a signatory to Hong Kong International Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships. India plans to pass the "Recycling of Ships Act, 2019" to ratify the Hong Kong treaty. This will allow India to capture its targeted 60% in the global ship breaking business while doubling the annual to US$2.3 billion target. India's Alang-Sosiya Ship Breaking Yard is world's largest ships' graveyard. Other ship graveyards in India is the Steel Industrials Kerala Limited breaking unit.

Ports in India

Sagar Mala: port-led development

See Sagar Mala project.

Transshipment ports

Most ports on India's east coast have a depth of 8-12 metres, which is too shallow for large ships. The world's major ports are 12-20 metres deep, which can handle ships weighing more than 1.65 lakh tonnes. That's why 25% of India's cargo goes through foreign ports like Colombo Port Sri Lanka, Jurong Port Singapore and Klang Port Malaysia. This leads to a direct loss of Rs 1,500 crore every year and a setback of Rs 3,000-4,500 crore every year to India's GDP. To move this 25% transshipment from foreignports back to Indian ports, India is developing following deep sea ports as automated global international container transshipment hubs:

Major seaports

The ports under the Central Government of India are known as Major ports, and other ports owned by private operators are classified as Minor ports, irrespective of total cargo handled. The following are the Major ports of India:
No.NameEstb. YearImageArea
LocationState/UTCargo handled
in MTPA
1Chennai Port1881ChennaiTamil Nadu136
2Cochin Port1928KochiKerala79.9
3Deendayal Port19659.83KandlaGujarat269.1
4Jawaharlal Nehru Port19883.37Navi MumbaiMaharashtra141.37
5Kamarajar Port2001EnnoreTamil Nadu91
6Mormugao Port1985
MormugaoGoa63.4
7Mumbai Port1873MumbaiMaharashtra84
8New Mangalore Port19748.22MangaluruKarnataka114.96
9Paradip Port196610ParadeepOdisha289.75
10Haldia Dock Complex197725.77HaldiaWest Bengal92.77
11Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port1870KolkataWest Bengal50.7
12V. O. Chidambaranar Port19742.428ThoothukkudiTamil Nadu111.46
13Visakhapatnam Port1933VisakhapatnamAndhra Pradesh143.68

Minor seaports

The ports owned by private operators are classified as Minor ports, irrespective of total cargo handled. The following are the Minor ports of India:
No.NameEstb. YearImageCityStateOwnership
1Mundra Port1998MundraGujaratAdani Group
2Karaikal Port2009KaraikalPuducherryAdani Group
3Jaigad Port2006JaigadMaharashtraJSW Group
4Krishnapatnam Port2008KrishnapatnamAndhra PradeshAdani Group
5Dharamtar Port2012AlibagMaharashtraJSW Group
6Hazira Port2025HaziraGujaratAdani Group
7Dighi Port2000RaigadMaharashtraAdani Group
8Dhamra Port2011BhadrakOdishaAdani Group
9Gopalpur Port2013GopalpurOdishaAdani Group
10Gangavaram Port2009VisakhapatnamAndhra PradeshAdani Group
11Kattupalli Port2012KattupalliTamil NaduAdani Group
12Dahej Port2010DahejGujaratAdani Group
13Kakinada Port1999KakinadaAndhra PradeshKSL
14Tuna Port2022TunaGujaratAdani Group
15Machilipatnam Port2025MachilipatnamAndhra PradeshMPDCL
16Port Pipavav2002PipavavGujaratAPM Terminals
17Vizhinjam International Seaport Thiruvananthapuram2025ThiruvananthapuramKeralaAdani Group

Unranked seaports

River ports

The following are the River ports of India:

Maritime boards

Maritime boards by state:
State Maritime BoardsEstablished
Gujarat Maritime Board1982
Maharashtra Maritime Board1996
Tamil Nadu Maritime Board1997
Karnataka Maritime Board2017
Kerala Maritime Board2017
Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board2019
West Bengal Maritime Board2015
Odisha Maritime Board2022

  • No maritime board has been established in the state of Goa yet, but the Government's Captain of Ports Department looks after the development of Inland Waterways and Minor Ports of Goa.