Coastal States of India & Major Indian Sea Ports [Updated] – Full List for SSC CGL

Coastal States of India: India’s coastline and various seaports located alongside form an important topic for the UPSC CSE preparation. This blog post covers all the important points about it. In this blog, we will provide you with brief details about the coastal states of India & the major sea ports.

Coastal States of India

– – India has the 18th longest total coastal length among all world countries. 

– The Indian coastline stretches over 7516.6 kilometers of land and thus, makes India one of the biggest peninsulas in the world.

– The coastal length of mainland India (except Andaman & Nicobar islands and Lakshadweep islands) is 5422.6 Km. The coastal length of all islands taken together is 2094 Km.

– It runs over 9 states and 4 union territories and is bound by the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal in the east.

– The western coastal states are Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala.

– The eastern coastal states are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, and West Bengal.

– The 4 union territories lying on the coastline are Daman & Diu, Puducherry, Lakshadweep Islands, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

1. Gujarat

• Important ports of Gujarat are – Alang, Kandla, Mandavi, Okha, Porbandar, Veraval, Jafarabad, Pipavav, Bhavnagar, Dahej, Magadalla, Hazira, Mandvi (Surat), Mundra, and Maroli.
• Major port: Kandla
• The Kandla port was formed with the intention to decongest the Mumbai port.
• It is located in the Gulf of Kutch and is the largest port in India when measured by the volume of cargo handled.
• Intermediate ports: Okha, Porbandar, Pipavav, and Bhavnagar.

2. Andhra Pradesh

• Important ports of Andhra Pradesh are —  Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, and Machlipatnam 

3. Tamil Nadu

• Important sea ports of Tamil Nadu are – Chennai, Ennore, and Tuticorin.
• The second largest port in India, Chennai Port (or Madras Port) primarily handles fertilizers, general cargo, iron-ore, and petroleum products.
• It is one of the oldest ports in India.
• Located north of Chennai, Ennore port was established to reduce congestion at Chennai Port. It is also India’s first corporate port.
• Tuticorin Port is officially known as VO Chidambaranar Port and is an artificial deep-sea harbor.
• The port handles the trade of coal, food grains, salt, sugar, petroleum products, and edible oils and carries out major trade with the neighboring country of Sri Lanka. 
• Kanyakumari, which is the southernmost tip of the Indian mainland is located here.

4. Maharashtra

• Important ports in Maharashtra are – Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai Port, Dharamtar, Mora, Redi, Jaitapur, and Rewas. 
• Jawaharlal Nehru Port is the largest container port in India. It was formerly known as Nhava Sheva port.
• Mumbai Port handles one-fifth of India’s foreign trade with predominance in dry cargo and mineral oil from the Gulf countries.

5. Kerala

• The important ports of Kerala are — Cochin, Kanhangad, Kollam, Kottayam, Kalichanadukkam, and Vizhinjam international seaport.
• The export of tea and coffee and the import of chemical fertilizers and mineral oil is handled by the port.

6. Odisha

• Most important port – is Paradip which is an artificial deep-water port.
• Coal, iron ore, and other dry cargoes are handled at the port. It has a cold handling plant, a railway system, and a national highway that connects it to the road networks of the rest of the country.
• Other smaller ports – Astaranga, Kirtania, and Dhamra.

7. Karnataka

• The important ports of Karnataka are – New Mangalore, Belekeri, Tadadi, Honnavar, Bhatkal, Kundapura, Hangarakatta, Malpe, and Padubidri.
• The new Mangalore port exports commodities such as granite stones, cashew, manganese, and coffee and imports products like LPG, timber, cargo container, and others.
• Panambur is the site of a seaport called New Mangalore Port.

8. Goa

• Marmagao is the major port of Goa.
• Mormagao Port is the leading iron ore exporting port of India with an annual throughput of around 27.33 million tonnes of iron ore traffic.

9. West Bengal

• The Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers form the Sundarban Delta near the Bay of Bengal. 
• Haldia is one of the most important port of the state.
• It is located in the Hooghly River and it is the most important center of jute industries.
• It is also known as the ‘Gateway of Eastern India’.

Major Sea-ports of India

A port is a location on a coast or a shore that contains one or more harbors where ships can dock. The locations of the ports are selected to optimize access to land and navigable water that can be used for commercial purposes and provide shelter from waves and winds.

List of Major Ports in India:

Name of Ports	State	Major Export
Kochi Port	Kerala	Tea, Coffee, Spices, etc
Ennore Port	Tamil Nadu	Iron ore, petroleum, coal, and chemicals
Haldia Port	West Bengal	Jute, steel, iron ore, etc
Kolkata Port	West Bengal	Iron ore, tea, coal, steel, etc
Kandla Port	Gujarat	Textile, manganese, machinery, leather, chemical products, etc
Mangalore Port	Karnataka	Iron ore
Marmagoa	Goa	Iron ore
Mumbai Port	Maharashtra	Textile, manganese, machinery, leather, chemical products, etc
Jawaharlal Nehru port	Maharashtra	Textile, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, carpets, etc
Paradip Port	Odisha	Iron ore, iron, and aluminium
Tuticorin Port	Tamil Nadu	Salt, fertilizer, petroleum, coal, etc
Vishakhapatnam Port	Andhra Pradesh	Coal, alumina, oil, and coals
Chennai port	Tamil Nadu	Rice, textile, leather, goods, etc

Important Ports in India Zone-wise

Zone	State	Port	Features
Eastern Coast	Tamil Nadu	Chennai	It is an artificial port and the Second busiest port.
Western Coast	Kerala	Kochi	Sited in the Vembanad lake and use for exports of spices and salts.
Eastern Coast	Tamil Nadu	Ennore	It is India’s First corporatized port.
Eastern Coast	West Bengal	Kolkata	India’s only major Riverine portSituated on the Hugli river, it is also known as Diamond Harbour
Western Coast	Gujarat	Kandla	It is known as Tidal Port and is acknowledged as Trade Free Zone. It is the largest port by volume of cargo handled.
Western Coast	Karnataka	Mangalore	It deals with the iron ore exports
Western Coast	Goa	Mormugao	It is situated on the estuary of the river Zuari
Western Coast	Maharashtra	Mumbai Port Trust	It is the largest Natural Port and harbour In India.It is the busiest port in India.
Western Coast	Maharashtra	Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) also known as Nhava Sheva, Navi Mumbai	It is the largest Artificial PortIt is the largest Container Port in India.
Eastern Coast	Odisha	Paradip	It is a natural harbour. Deals with the export of iron and aluminium.
Eastern Coast	Tamil Nadu	Tuticorin	It is a significant port in southern India that handles petrochemical and fertiliser products.
Eastern Coast	Andhra Pradesh	Visakhapatnam	Iron ore is sent to Japan through this port, which is India’s deepest. There are facilities for building and maintaining ships.
Bay of Bengal	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	Port Blair	The port was connected to the Indian subcontinent by ship and air. This port is located between the Saudi Arabian and US Singaporean shipping lanes.

Hope this post comes in handy for your preparation! Comment with your suggestions below. All the best!

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