Major Ports and Coasts

31 ports, coast by coast — the 12 major ports, Mundra, Vizhinjam, Vadhavan — each with the one tag exams ask.

On this map (31)

Deendayal Port (Kandla) · Gujarat — Major · tidal · Gulf of Kutch. A TIDAL port on the Gulf of Kutch; built after 1947 to replace Karachi
Mundra Port · Gujarat — Private · Gulf of Kutch. Largest privately owned port in India (Adani) ✓ (UPSC 2023)
Sikka Port · Gujarat — Private · Jamnagar. Handles crude and products for Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery, the world’s largest refining complex
Okha Port · Gujarat — Minor · Dwarka. At the mouth of the Gulf of Kutch, near Dwarka and Beyt Dwarka
Pipavav Port · Gujarat — Private · Amreli. First port in India built by the private sector (1990s)
Dahej Port · Gujarat — Non-major · Bharuch. A non-major port ✓ (UPSC 2009)
Hazira Port · Gujarat — Private · Surat. LNG terminal and a big industrial belt (steel, petrochemicals)
Vadhavan Port (under construction) · Maharashtra — Major (13th) · Palghar. Approved in 2024 as India’s 13th major port; natural depth ~20 m
Mumbai Port · Maharashtra — Major · natural harbour. A deep NATURAL harbour; India’s busiest port for long
Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) · Maharashtra — Major · Navi Mumbai. LARGEST container port in India (not Visakhapatnam — UPSC 2023)
Mormugao Port · Goa — Major · Zuari estuary. A natural harbour at the Zuari estuary
Karwar (INS Kadamba) · Karnataka — Minor + naval base · Uttara Kannada. India’s largest naval base project (Project Seabird) is at Karwar
New Mangalore Port · Karnataka — Major · Panambur. Karnataka’s only major port; built for Kudremukh iron ore
Beypore Port · Kerala — Minor · Kozhikode. Famous for wooden dhows (uru) built for Arab traders
Cochin Port (Kochi) · Kerala — Major · Vembanad backwater. A NATURAL harbour on the Vembanad backwater (Malabar coast)
Vizhinjam International Seaport · Kerala — Deep-water transshipment · Thiruvananthapuram. India’s first deep-water container TRANSSHIPMENT port, opened May 2025
V.O. Chidambaranar Port (Tuticorin) · Tamil Nadu — Major · Gulf of Mannar. On the Gulf of Mannar; renamed after freedom fighter V.O. Chidambaram Pillai
Karaikal Port · Puducherry — Private · Puducherry. Puducherry UT has four parts: Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe, Yanam (UPSC 2000 map question)
Chennai Port · Tamil Nadu — Major · artificial harbour. An ARTIFICIAL (open-sea) harbour — not natural, the UPPCS trap
Kamarajar Port (Ennore) · Tamil Nadu — Major · first corporate port. First major port registered as a COMPANY ✓ (UPSC 2023)
Krishnapatnam Port · Andhra Pradesh — Private · Nellore. A private, deep-water, all-weather port
Kakinada Port · Andhra Pradesh — Minor · Godavari delta. Supply base for the Krishna–Godavari offshore gas fields
Gangavaram Port · Andhra Pradesh — Private · Visakhapatnam. A deep private port just south of Visakhapatnam; not touched in UPPCS yet
Visakhapatnam Port · Andhra Pradesh — Major · landlocked harbour. India’s deepest LANDLOCKED and protected port; the Dolphin’s Nose headland shields it
Paradip Port · Odisha — Major · Mahanadi delta. Leading iron-ore exporting port; built on the Mahanadi delta
Dhamra Port · Odisha — Private · Bhadrak. A private deep port near Bhitarkanika and the Gahirmatha olive ridley nesting beach — a conservation debate
Haldia Dock Complex · West Bengal — Major (part of Kolkata) · Hooghly. Downstream dock of Kolkata port, for big ships that cannot reach the city
Diamond Harbour · West Bengal — Tidal · Hooghly. Kandla and Diamond Harbour are TIDAL ports ✓ (UPSC 2000)
Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (Kolkata) · West Bengal — Major · riverine. A RIVERINE port on the Hooghly, ~200 km from the sea
Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair) · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Andaman. Capital port of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Galathea Bay (planned port) · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Great Nicobar. Planned international transshipment port under the Great Nicobar project

Asked in exams

UPSC 2009First Export Processing Zone → Kandla ✓
UPSC 2000Kandla and Diamond Harbour are tidal ports ✓
UPSC 2000Highest import tonnage → Kandla
UPPCSKandla = only major tidal port; no LNG terminal
UPSC 2023Mundra — largest privately owned port ✓
UPPCSMundra — Andhra Pradesh ✗
UPPCSOkha → Gujarat coast
UPSC 2009Non-major port → Dahej
UPPCSMumbai = largest natural harbour
UPSC 2023Visakhapatnam — largest container port ✗ (JNPA is)
UPSC 1998Nhava Sheva → port
UPPCSJN Port = fully mechanised, eases Mumbai
UPSC 1999Ship building → Marmagao
UPPCSW. coast order: Nhava Sheva → Mormugao → New Mangalore → Cochin
UPSC 2009New Mangalore is a major port
UPSC 1982Tuticorin, Mangalore, Paradip → not Kerala
UPSC 2003Largest shipyard → Kochi
UPSC 2009Kochi is a major port
UPPCSCochin → natural port, Malabar coast
UPSC 1999Pearl fishing → Tuticorin
UPSC 1982Tuticorin → Tamil Nadu
UPSC 2000Ports of Puducherry on a map: Karaikal, Mahe, Puducherry, Yanam
UPPCSChennai = artificial / open-sea port, not natural (asked 2+ times)
UPSC 2023Kamarajar — first major port registered as a company ✓
UPPCSEnnore → Tamil Nadu
UPPCSKrishnapatnam → Andhra Pradesh
UPPCSKakinada → Andhra Pradesh
UPSC 2023Visakhapatnam — largest container port ✗
UPPCSVisakhapatnam → Andhra coast
UPSC 2009Paradip is a major port
UPSC 1982Paradip → Odisha
UPPCSParadip = leading iron-ore exporter, no natural harbour
UPSC 1998Haldia → fertilisers
UPPCSHaldia — Odisha ✗ (West Bengal); NW-1 ends at Haldia
UPSC 2009First telegraph line Kolkata–Diamond Harbour ✓
UPSC 2000Highest import tonnage: Calcutta ✗ (Kandla)

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