Indian ports: Time to catch up
Recent media reports suggest that India’s container ports have climbed to 6th position globally as throughput has reached 24 million TEUs (Twenty Foot Equivalent units) in 2025. This does not reflect the factual position. The latest Lloyd’s List and Alphaliner publications suggest that Indian container ports remain far behind many container ports in Asia, Europe and the US.Shanghai has handled 55 million TEUs in 2025 – more than twice the combined annual container traffic of all Indian ports. Out of the 30 top container ports in the world, 11 are Chinese ports.Singapore continues to remain at the second place having handled 44.6 million TEUs in 2025. Singapore Port Authority has developed an ambitious developmental plan by creating TUAS port which represents the “Future of the Singapore Transhipment Hub”.However, Singapore is now facing a strong challenge by the Chinese Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan which is closely behind having handled 43.8 million TEUs.Port of Busan in South Korea has remained consistently at the 7th place having handled 24.8 million TEUs. South Korean government with private participation plans to invest more than $35 billion for developing 12 ports in the next 20 years to increase their ship handling capacity. Laem Chabang in Thailand has maintained its position as the 18th largest port handling 10.4 million TEUs. Port of Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam has sprung a surprise by elevating its rank to the 20th position by handling 10 million TEUs. It is important to note that Colombo is still ahead of the two premier Indian ports of Mundra and the J N Port in Nhava Sheva having been placed at the 24th, 25th and 26th positions respectively.Although containerization originated from the US port developments in the US did not keep pace with the developments in container shipping.The US and European ports lagged behind due to a number of regulatory and procedural delays influenced by environmental issues. During the last two decades Asian ports made substantial improvements in the modernisation of ports embracing new technology and were able to accommodate third and fourth generation container ships upto 25,000 TEUs.Seeking partnersIndian ports need to collaborate and partner with global container shipping giants to develop sustainable port infrastructure. The recent collaborative deal of Adani Ports offering 49 per cent stake in Vizhinjam port for ₹13,000 crore to the largest container shipping line Mediterranean Shipping Company is a model worth considering.Another example is the APM Terminal of Pipava Port in Gujarat where the world’s second largest container line Maersk’s terminal arm APM terminals has partnered with the port for management and operations. It holds a majority stake in Gujarat Pipavav port Ltd.The Malaysian port Tanjung Pelepas has partnered with APM terminals with a 30 per cent stake and it has become the 13th largest container port in the world within 25 years of its existence. The JM Baxi Group has partnered with the third largest container line CMA/CGM and the fifth largest container line Hapag-Lloyd for their terminal development, management and operations in Mumbai and Tuticorin ports.Cochin Port’s container terminal operator DP World would do well by partnering with one of the largest container shipping lines for more efficient, faster and sustainable development in a highly competitive market environment.It is important to note that seven largest container shipping lines — Mediterranean Shipping Co, A P Moller-Maersk, CMA/CGM Group, COSCO Shipping Lines, Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express and Evergreen Marine control 74 per cent of the global container market share and, therefore, they have the capacity, power and influence in port selection and direction of container trade.The writer is a former Chairman of Mormugao Port Trust, and an Adjunct Professor of Indian Maritime University, Chennai.Published on July 10, 2026
