In India, ports are categorised into Mega ports, Major ports and Non-Major ports. As of 2024, the country has 14 major ports and 217 non-major ports out of which four of them are notified as Mega ports in september 2026. 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 (PPP) model. A port is declared to be Mega port if it handled 150 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo in the preceding financial year in the case of a bulk port, or 7.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the case of a container port regardless of if it is Major or Non-Major. 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.|url=https://shipmin.gov.in/sites/default/files/Cargo%20handled%20at%20Major%20Ports%20January%202025%20%281%29.pdf Paradip Port is the largest container port in India owned by government.

Due to the shallow depth of its east coast ports (8-12 meters), 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 (Million Metric Tons) 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 (CSL) 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 eyes 60 per cent share of global ship recycling business; higher GDP contribution, Economic Times, 30 December 2019. 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.A STUDY ON BERTH AND DEPTH OF MAJOR PORTS IN INDIA, ijcrt.org, accessed 9 Sept 2025. The world's major ports are 12-20 metres deep, which can handle ships weighing more than 1.65 lakh tonnes.10 Biggest Ports in the World: 2025 Ranking & Analysis, shipfinex.com, accessed 9 Sept 2025. That's why 25% of India's cargo goes through foreign ports like Colombo Port Sri Lanka, Jurong Port Singapore and Klang Port Malaysia.Can India's container transhipment hubs take on Colombo, livemint.com, accessed 9 Sept 2025. 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.Adani Ports focussing on scaling up marine, logistics & agri-logistics biz, economictimes, accessed 9 Sept 2025. 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:

Eastern Coastal India:

International Container Transshipment Port, Galathea Bay in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, greenfield, under-construction with phase-I completion target date of 2028.

Western Coastal India:

Cochin Port in Kerala: existing and operational, 14.5m draft depth. India's first international container transshipment terminal (ICTT).

International Deep Water Container Transhipment Port in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum Port) owned by Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd Thiruvananthapuram of Government of Kerala, greenfield, operational, India's first and deepest international container transshipment port (ICTP), 24 meters deep draft. and its only port directly adjacent to an international shipping lane. The port is on the heavily-trafficked east-west shipping channel connecting Europe to the Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia, and the Far East (Suez–Far East route and Far East–Middle East route).

Vadhavan Port in Maharashtra, greenfield, under-construction with Phase-1 completion by 2029 and phase-2 by 2024, 20 meters draft, India's first offshore port on artificial island.

Classification of Indian Ports

Mega Ports The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways officially notified Deendayal (Kandla), Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva), Paradip, and Mundra as India's first mega ports under Section 73 of the Indian Ports Act, 2025 via a gazette notification issued on September 25, 2026. The notification states that the four ports satisfy the criteria for classification as a mega port. These criteria were notified on July 30, 2026 in consultation with State governments. Under the criteria, a port is eligible to be declared a mega port if it handled 150 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo in the preceding financial year in the case of a bulk port, or 7.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the case of a container port. Where a port handles both container and bulk cargo, container volumes are to be converted to tonnes using the conversion method adopted by the port. Cargo throughput includes all export-import and coastal cargo, whether bulk, break-bulk, liquid, dry or containerised. It is to be computed in a manner that avoids double counting of transhipped cargo as far as practicable. No. Name Estb. YearImage Area(km2) Location State/UT Cargo handledin MTPA(FY2022-23)1Mundra Port 1998MundraGujarat Adani Group 1362Deendayal Port19659.83KandlaGujarat269.13Paradip Port196610ParadeepOdisha289.754Jawaharlal Nehru Port19883.37Navi MumbaiMaharashtra141.37

Deepwater Container Transhipment Port (Mother Port) No.NameEstb. YearImageCityStateOwnership1International Deepwater ContainerTranshipment Port in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum Port)2025TrivandrumKeralaVizhinjam International Seaport Ltd, Government of Kerala

Major Ports

The ports under the Central Government of India are known as Major ports, and other ports owned by private operators are classified as Non-Major ports, irrespective of total cargo handled. The following are the Major ports of India: No. Name Estb. YearImage Area(km2) Location State/UT Cargo handledin MTPA(FY2022-23)1Chennai Port 1881Chennai Tamil Nadu 1362Cochin Port 1928Kochi Kerala 79.93Kamarajar Port2001EnnoreTamil Nadu914Mormugao Port 1985Mormugao Goa 63.4 5Mumbai Port 1873Mumbai Maharashtra 846New Mangalore Port 1974 8.22Mangaluru Karnataka 114.967Haldia Dock Complex 1977 25.77Haldia West Bengal 92.778Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port 1870Kolkata West Bengal 50.79V. O. Chidambaranar Port (Thoothukudi Port)1974 2.428Thoothukkudi Tamil Nadu 111.46 10Visakhapatnam Port 1933Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh 143.68

Non-Major Ports The ports owned by private operators are classified as Minor ports, irrespective of total cargo handled. The following are the Non-Major ports of India: No.NameEstb. YearImageCityStateOwnership 1Karaikal Port 2009Karaikal Puducherry Adani Group 2Jaigad Port 2006Jaigad Maharashtra JSW Group 3Krishnapatnam Port 2008Krishnapatnam Andhra Pradesh Adani Group 4Dharamtar Port 2012Alibag Maharashtra JSW Group 5Hazira Port 2025Hazira Gujarat Adani Group 6Dighi Port 2000Raigad Maharashtra Adani Group 7Dhamra Port 2011Bhadrak Odisha Adani Group 8Gopalpur Port 2013Gopalpur Odisha Adani Group 9Gangavaram Port 2009Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh Adani Group 10Kattupalli Port 2012Kattupalli Tamil Nadu Adani Group 11Dahej Port 2010Dahej Gujarat Adani Group 12Kakinada Port 1999Kakinada Andhra Pradesh KSL 13Tuna Port 2022Tuna Gujarat Adani Group 14Machilipatnam Port 2025Machilipatnam Andhra Pradesh MPDCL 15Port Pipavav 2002Pipavav Gujarat APM Terminals16Vizhinjam Port1946TrivandrumKeralaKerala Maritime Board under Government of Kerala

Unranked seaports Angré Port Beypore Port Beda Port Bedi Port New Bedi Port Bhavnagar Port Bhankodar Port Gangolli Port Jakhau Port Karanja Port Karwar Port Kollam Port Yogayatan Port Mandvi Port and Shipyard Nagapattinam Port Navlakhi Port Okha Port Port Blair Port Porbandar Port Rajula Port Redi Port Rewas Port Rozi Port Vadinar Port Veraval Port Salav Port Sikka Port Simar Port

River ports The following are the River ports of India: Dhubri Port Durgachak Port Kottayam Port Farakka Port Magdalla Port Pandu Port Varanasi Port Sahebganj Port

Statistics

Maritime boards Maritime boards by state:

State Maritime Boards Established Gujarat Maritime Board 1982 Maharashtra Maritime Board 1996 Tamil Nadu Maritime Board 1997 Karnataka Maritime Board 2017 Kerala Maritime Board 2017 Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board 2019 West Bengal Maritime Board 2015 Odisha Maritime Board 2022