It is also the first transshipment terminal in India. Cochin Port or Kochi Port is a major port on the Arabian Sea – Laccadive Sea – Indian Ocean sea-route in the city of Kochi and is one of the largest ports in India.It is due to the existence of the port that the city of Chennai eventually became known as the Gateway of South India.It is an artificial and all-weather port with wet docks.The port is the largest one in the Bay of Bengal. Chennai Port, formerly known as Madras Port, is the second-largest container port of India, behind Mumbai’s Nhava Sheva (JNPT).Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) also known as Nhava Sheva, Navi Mumbai The list of important major ports in India is given below: Zone 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 – Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. As you know, Indian government has a federal structure, and according to its constitution, maritime transport is to be administered by both the Central and the State governments.Mumbai is the largest natural port in India.In Andaman and Nicobar Islands, there is Port Blair. The last one, Ennore is a registered public company with the government owning a 68% stake. The ones on the east coast are the ports at Chennai, Tuticorin, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, Kolkata, and Ennore.On the west coast, there are the ports of Mumbai, Kandla, Mangalore, JNPT, Vadhavan, Mormugao, and Cochin.Thirteen major ports in the country handle a lot of volume of container and cargo traffic. India’s extended coastline forms one of the major portions of land that juts out into a water body. All ports in India are situated in the 9 coastal states of India namely Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.About 95 percent by volume and 70 percent by value of India’s total international trade are carried on through maritime transportation.Cost, capacity, and easiness of transportation via ports are most effective compared to other modes available.
Ports play a very central role in the development of a nation. India has 13 major seaports (12 Government-owned and one private) and 205 notified minor and intermediate ports that handle a huge volume of traffic.In this article, I wanna walk you through the Major Sea Ports in India – for UPSC IAS.