India - சென்னை கடற்கரை
The Port of Chennai is an emerging hub port in the east coast of India. The port is ranked in the top 100 container ports in the world. Witnessing a phenomenal growth in container handling year after in 2009 a Second Container Terminal operated by Chennai International Terminals Private Limited opened. This has a capacity to handle 1.5 M TEUs to meet the increasing demand.
The Port now with three docks, 24 berths and draft ranging 8.5 m to 16.5 m has become a hub port for Containers, Cars and Project Cargo in the East Coast
The Port of Chennai is one among major ports having Terminal Shunting Yard and running their own Railway operations inside the harbour. The port contains railway lines running up to 41 kilometres. These include eight sidings to handle wide range of cargo like Granite, Food grains, Dry Bulk, etc. For handling containers separate sidings are available.
Throughput at Port of Chennai
The Port has handled 51.88 Million Tonnes of cargo volume for 2017-18. This compared to 50.21 Million Tonnes of Cargo in 2016-17. Container Volume increased to 1,549,457 TEU’s against 1,494,831 TEU’s in 2016-17. Physical performance parameters like Pre-Berthing Detention, Turn Around Time and Ship Berth day Output continued to improve.
The existing Cruise Terminal was being upgraded to International Standards as a part of Cruise Shipping Policy. The induction of Mobile Harbour Cranes 100T – 2 Nos is expected to improve the productivity of Cargo Handling of the Port.
Marketing initiatives are being undertaken to improve the Port Trade, Logistics and also to attract new Cargo.
In the financial year 2022, the average turnaround time stood at the Chennai port in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu was two days. The port sector of the South Asian country handled over 1.3 billion metric tons of cargo in 2022. A major portion of this cargo was handled by the major ports.
New competition of Port of Chennai
As manufacturing flourishes along India’s east coast, container carriers are forging fresh connections to capitalize on the trade diversification wave. A notable shift is evident, with more vessels favoring Adani Group’s private terminals over the traditional hub, Chennai. CMA CGM, in its Nemo service, now includes a call at Adani’s Ennore Terminal, intensifying competition. Located just 15 miles north of Chennai, Ennore boasts superior highway connectivity, while Kattupalli, another Adani facility, provides direct trucking and intermodal systems. The surge in transshipment activity signals a departure from Chennai’s inherent infrastructure challenges, such as land-side bottlenecks, making alternative terminals more appealing. Industry data reveals the shift’s impact, with Ennore and Kattupalli collectively handling more TEUs than Chennai in fiscal Q1. As trade continues expanding, carriers are expected to favor alternative terminals, steering the region’s cargo dynamics.