Chennai Port, formerly known as Madras Port, is the second largest container port of India, behind Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port also known as Nhava Sheva. The port is the largest one in the Bay of Bengal. It is the third-oldest port among the 13 major ports of India with official port operations beginning in 1881, although maritime trade started much earlier in 1639 on the undeveloped shore. It is an artificial and all-weather port with wet docks. Once a major travel port, it became a major container port in the post-Independence era. An established port of trade of British India since the 1600s, the port remains a primary reason for the economic growth of Tamil Nadu, especially for the manufacturing boom in South India, and has contributed greatly to the development of the city of Chennai. It is due to the existence of the port that the city of Chennai eventually became known as the Gateway of South India.
The lighter aboard ship (LASH) system refers to the practice of loading barges (lighters) aboard a bigger vessel for transport. It was developed in response to a need to transport lighters, a type of unpowered barge, between inland waterways separated by open seas. Lighters are typically towed or pushed around harbors, canals or rivers and cannot be relocated under their own power. The carrier ships are known variously as LASH carriers, barge carriers, kangaroo ships or lighter transport ships.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port, also known as JNPT and Nhava Sheva Port, is the second largest container port in India after Mundra Port. Operated by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Authority (JNPTA), it is located on the eastern shores of Arabian Sea in Navi Mumbai, Raigad district, Maharashtra. This port can be accessed via Thane Creek, a nodal city of Navi Mumbai. It is the main port of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region after Mumbai Port, also of Maharashtra and Western India. Its common name derives from the names of Nhava and Sheva villages that are situated here. It is also the terminal of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor.
The Port of Karachi is one of South Asia's largest and busiest deep-water seaports, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is located on the Karachi Harbour, between Kiamari Azra Langri, Manora, and Kakapir, and close to Karachi's main business district and several industrial areas. The geographic position of the port places it in close proximity to major shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz. It is also ideally located to offer gateway services to the maritime trade for the Central Asian Republics (CARs). The administration of the port is carried out by the Karachi Port Trust, which was established in 1857.
Port of Kolkata or Kolkata Port, officially known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, is the only riverine major port in India, in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, around 203 kilometres (126 mi) from the sea. It is the oldest operating port in India and was constructed by the British East India Company. Kolkata is a freshwater port with no variation in salinity. The port has two distinct dock systems – Kolkata Dock at Kolkata and a deep water dock at Haldia Dock Complex, Haldia.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd, abbreviated as GRSE, is one of India's leading shipyards, located in Kolkata. It builds and repairs commercial and naval vessels. GRSE also exports the ships that the company builds.
The Port of Iloilo is a seaport located in Iloilo City, Philippines. It serves the city, province of Iloilo, and the entire island of Panay in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It is located away from the older port facilities in Iloilo City Proper, on the southeastern coast of Panay, in Iloilo Strait, and one of the country’s safest and most natural harbors.
Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India. It was constituted under IWAI Act-1985 by the Parliament of India. Its headquarters is located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
The Port of Odesa or Odesa Sea Port, located near Odesa, is the largest Ukrainian seaport and one of the largest ports in the Black Sea basin, with a total annual traffic capacity of 40 million tonnes, the only port of Ukraine capable of accepting Panamax class vessels. The port has an immediate access to railways allowing quick transfer of cargo from sea routes to ground transportation. Along with its younger satellite ports of Chornomorsk (1958) and Yuzhne (1973), the Port of Odesa is a major freight and passenger transportation hub of Ukraine.
The West Coast Canal or National Waterway No 3 is a 205 km (127 mi) long inland navigational route located in Kerala, India, which runs from Kollam to Kottapuram. It was declared a National Waterway in 1993. In addition to the main stretch, Champakara and Udyogmandal canals are navigable and connect the industrial centers of Kochi to Kochi port Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the Ministry of Shipping is coordinating the task for developing, monitoring and administering national waterways. It is the first National Waterway in the country with 24-hour navigation facilities along the entire stretch. It has been extended to Kozhikode by the National Waterways Act, 2016. The National Waterway 3 mainly passes through the previous Thiruvananthapuram–Shoranur canal.
Kottayam Port and Container Terminal (KPCT) is the first minor port and Inland Container Depot (ICD) using Inland waterways Kerala state, situated in Nattakom, on the banks of Kodoor river in National Waterway 9. This is also India's first port and ICD to use inland waterway with Customs notified area for Exports & Imports. The port integrates multi-mode freight traffic between Kochi Port and a vast hinterland of Kottayam district, Pathanamthitta district and Idukki district. This is a gateway port for Kottayam.
Paradip Port is a natural, deep-water port on the East coast of India in Paradip, just 53 km (33 mi) from Jagatsinghpur city in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha, India. It is at the confluence of the Mahanadi river and the Bay of Bengal, 210 nmi south of Kolkata and 260 nmi north of Visakhapatnam.
Kollam Port is one of the historic ports situated 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) away from Downtown Kollam It is the second largest port in Kerala by volume of cargo handled and facilities. Located on the south-west coast of India, under the name of Quilon Port it became one of the country's most important trade hubs from the ninth to the seventeenth centuries. Kollam was one of the five Indian ports visited by Ibn Battuta.
North Killingholme Haven is a water outlet on the south bank of the Humber Estuary in the civil parish of North Killingholme, to the north-west of the Port of Immingham.
Haldia Port, officially Haldia Dock Complex (HDC), is a port on the river bank of the confluence of the Haldi River and the Hooghly River. The port is located on the west bank of the Hooghly River at Haldia in West Bengal, about 121 km from the deep sea (sandheads), 45 kilometres (28 mi) upstream from Pilotage Station and 104 km downstream of Kolkata. It developed in independent India in the 1960s, and officially began operations in 1977 as an associate port of the Port of Kolkata. The dock system of the port consists of a lock and riverside jetties. Haldia port mainly handles fully loaded Handy size –carriers of 28,000–40,000 DWT–vessels; but the port has a maximum draft depth of 9 metres (30 ft) and can accommodate Panamax vessels up to 230 metres (750 ft) long with 40-50-percent cargo parcels.
The Port of Pangaon is an inland port and container terminal on the Buriganga River in Dhaka District, Bangladesh. It serves as a cargo port for Bangladesh's capital and largest city Dhaka. It was opened in 2013. It is the first river port of its kind in Bangladesh.
Varanasi Multi-Modal Terminal or Varanasi Port is an Inland river port situated in the city of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The port is located on the Ganges river. This port is built under the government's Jal Marg Vikas project. The port has provided a direct link with the Port of Kolkata and Haldia Port.
Pandu Port is a river port in the Indian state of Assam, serving Guwahati. This port has been developed on the bank of the Brahmaputra river. The port is the most important and the largest river port in Assam state. Many passenger ships at the port are anchored with the tourists. However, the state government has now allocated funds for the modernization of the port for national waterway development projects. In order to arrange a ship anchorage, a naval terminal or permanent jetty has been formed. The Port is included in the port of call agreement between India and Bangladesh.
Water transport in India has played a significant role in the country's economy and is indispensable to foreign trade. India is endowed with an extensive network of waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks and a long coastline accessible through the seas and oceans. It has the largest carrying capacity of any form of transport and is most suitable for carrying bulky goods over long distances.
Summit Alliance Port Limited is a Bangladeshi company that provides off-dock services. In addition to its facilities in the Chittagong Port and a river terminal situated on the bank of the Dhaleshwari River in Munshiganj District, it also operates and manages three river terminals in India. The principal activities of the company are inland container depot with facilities for empty container storage and container freight station having provision for handling both Import and export cargo.
India 
