The place on a shore or on a coast that consists of a single or more than one harbours wherein the ships can dock can be called a port. One can undoubtedly say that India has a lot of shipping routes. With water bodies surrounding India from three sides, the presence of a number of ports for commerce and travel is inevitable. The three sides are such that in the South there is the Indian Ocean, in the West, we have the Arabian Sea and, in the East, there is the Bay of Bengal.
For selecting the adequate location of a port, one has to keep in mind a lot of points such as navigable water and way of contact with land, it is optimally chosen such that the most commercial use becomes possible along with protection from winds as well as waves.
Globally, India is popular for forming one of the largest peninsulas with a coastline of over 7500km. It can be said there are about 13 seaports which are major whereas the intermediate ports and the non-major seaports can be about 200. Here are the states in which the seaports are located – Gujrat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Puduch*erry, Maharashtra, Odisha, Daman and Diu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Karnataka, Lakshadweep and Goa.
Major Ports
Here are a few of the major ports mentioned –
- Chennai Port is the second largest port and mainly manages general cargo, petroleum products, fertilisers and iron-ore.
- Haldia Port which is located close to the Hooghly River is of huge significance for industries of jute. ‘Gateway of Eastern India’ is another name for this port.
- Kochi port is also known as Cochin Port is known for tea and coffee export. The management of the import of mineral oil as well as chemical fertilizers is also done here.
- Tuticorin Port is known for managing the trade of food grains, sugar, coal etcetera. Tamil Nadu, is known as a very major port and engages in trade with Sri Lanka which is its neighbouring country.
- Mumbai Port is India’s largest port which is located on the Mainland of West Mumbai. The trade in oil and cargo is taken care of by Mumbai port. To relieve the congestion of Mumbai Port, Kandla Port was developed.
- Jawaharlal Nehru Port is known for managing traffic regarding international containers as well as a huge volume of domestic cargo traffic. It is the Arabian Sea’s significant port and is located in the Konkan region.
- Encore Port is India’s first corporate port which was established for reducing Chennai Port’s congestion.
- Paradip Port is the port having a railway system, a cold handling plant and a National highway which joins the port to the country’s road network,
- New Mangalore Port is another significant port of the country. The location of New Mangalore Port is at the Karnataka coast’s southern tip. The commodities, for example, cashew, coffee and granite stones are exported from this port whereas cargo containers, LPG and timber are imported from this port.
- Vishakhapatnam Port is also popularly known as Vizag Port comprising three harbours and known for import and export of goods such as pellets and alumina oil etcetera.
- Port Blair Port is India’s one of the youngest ports and holds a lot of significance economically.
- Mormugao Port is situated in Goa and is a major exporter of iron ore. This port is also a destination for tourists.
- Kandla port can be referred to as a very old port of India and its construction dates back to the 1950s. It is a very busy port known for the import of salt, heavy machinery, textiles etcetera.
Thus, these are a few significant ports of India along with some of their basic description.
Conclusion
As observed from the above points the major ports in India are now clearly understood. Being covered by water bodies on the three sides, India has a large number of ports. In total there are about thirteen major seaports whereas about two hundred the intermediate ports and the non-major seaports. The above points have briefly described the major ports in India.
