Major Ports outpace non-major ports in coastal cargo throughput for FY25

NEW DELHI : The 12 major ports in India have outpaced non-major ports in handling higher quantum of coastal cargo during the first seven months of the financial year 2025, unlike last year. Paradip Port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Mormugao Port have led the charge.

While major ports handled 1097 lakh tonnes of coastal cargo and between April-October 2024 (a growth of four per cent), non major ports handled 770 lakh tonnes of coastal cargo —a decline of one per cent — during the same nine-month period. In comparison, a year ago, between April-October 2023, coastal cargo volumes at non-major ports had grown at 21 per cent, while the growth at major ports stood at 3.6 per cent.

In the current financial year, major ports like Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra and Mormugao in Goa have registered impressive growth rates. While overseas cargo at Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra grew a little over three per cent between April-October 2024, the coastal cargo volumes jumped by over 38 per cent in the same seven month period. During the same period, the overseas cargo volumes at Mormugao dipped by 16 per cent, while the coastal cargo volumes rose by almost 23 per cent.

Steel cargo from the eastern coast and cement from Gujarat has helped boost coastal cargo volumes at Jawaharlal Nehru Port. “After the Shallow Water Berth and the Coastal Berth was taken over by Nhava Sheva Distribution Terminal under the PPP mode in May 2023, there was a substantial increase in steel cargo coming from the eastern coast. There is a 35 per cent increase in steel cargo this year. Similarly, there is also an increase in cement being shipped by Ultratech from Gujarat,” said a spokesperson of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA).

India’s biggest major port by volumes — Paradip in Odisha — continues to handle one-third of the total coastal cargo volumes of the country. The port saw a growth of 5.5 percent in coastal cargo volumes this year. The port, which achieved 100 million tonnes of cargo volumes on December 9, said Coastal Thermal Coal handling constituted more than 30 percent of total cargo volume handled at the Port this year. This cargo has shown a 3.57 percent growth this year. “Paradip port is emerging as a coastal shipping hub of the country ,” stated Paradip Port Authority (PPA) in a statement earlier this week.

In comparison, coastal cargo volumes at non-major ports of the country are being led by the ports in Gujarat. The cluster of ports under Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) handled a massive 72 per cent of coastal cargo among non major ports during April-October 2024. The GMB non major ports which includes private ports saw a 4.4 per cent growth in coastal cargo. While states like Odisha saw a 75 per cent rise in cargo. Karnataka too saw a 18 per cent jump in coastal cargo. Despite the growth seen in few states, the cumulative coastal cargo throughput of non major ports fell by one per cent to 770 lakh tonnes between April-October 2024 as the non-major ports in states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu reported a decline of 15 per cent and 24 per cent in cargo throughput, respectively.