The nine coastal Indian states Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal are home to all major and minor ports of India. There are total 13 major sea ports of India, out of 12 are government and one, Ennore port of Chennai is the corporate one. Ennore Port is one of the major port of India located at Coromandel Coast of Tamil Nadu state along with private Krishnapatnam Port.
1. 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, Kandla Port is hub for major imports like petroleum, chemicals and iron also 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.
2. 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 cost and handle a large volume of international container traffic and domestic cargo traffic. The major exports are textiles,carpets,boneless meat and main imports are machinery,vegetable oils and chemicals.
3. Mumbai Port: The Mumbai Port is located in the mainland of west Mumbai on the West coast of India with natural deep-water harbor. 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.
4. Marmagao port- Goa: The main port of Goa,Marmagao port is a best natural harbors of India located in South Goa. Marmagao port is one of the leading iron ores exporter port in India and raw materials too.The port of Marmagao is one of the major attraction of Goa along with the beautiful city of Vasco da Gama and international airport Dabolim. The natural harbor of Goa is one of India’s earliest modern ports.
5. 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. Port of Mangalore export major commodities like manganese, granite stones, coffee and cashew and main imports includes timber logs,LPG,petroleum products and cargo containers. There is a beautiful beach at south of sea port of Panambur along with the shore of the Arabian Sea.
6. 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.
7. 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 are 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.
8. 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 first is Chennai Port and one of the largest container terminal in India. The artificial port of Tuticorin is a all weather port and who receive 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.
9. Chennai Port: Madras Port is the one of the oldest port 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. Port of the Coromandel Coast handles a variety of cargo containers,automobiles,coal,fertilizers and petroleum products. Chennai Port terminals have lighthouses around,Intra port connectivity,Pipelines and railway terminus.
10. 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 harbors is the only Natural harbors in the bay of Bengal shore. Vizag is second largest city in Andhra, nestled among the great hills of Eastern Ghats and faces the Bay of Bengal.Krishnapatnam Port is a privately built deep water port in Andhra Pradesh.
11. 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 cost shore and situated at the confluence of great river Mahanadi and the Bay of Bengal. Paradip Port has its own railway system,cold handling plant and a national highway connects the port with rest of Indian road networks.
12. Haldia port- West Bengal: Haldia port or Calcutta 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 Calcutta and receive bulk cargoes of Chemicals, Petrochemicals and oils. Port of Kolkata is also a base of Indian Coast Guard.
