Port Of Mumbai, India

The Port of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is a deep natural harbor on India's northwest coast just six nautical miles west of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva and some 432 nautical miles south-southeast of the Port of Kandla. One of the world's largest municipalities, with its suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, the Port of Mumbai's metropolitan area of some 19 million people is the fifth most populous in the world.

The Port of Mumbai is the capital of the Maharashtra state and India's commercial and entertainment center. One of the most important commercial centers in the world, the Port of Mumbai is home to India's major financial institutions with many headquarters for Indian corporations and branch headquarters for lots of multi-national corporations. Known as Bollywood, the Port of Mumbai is the center for the Hindi entertainment industry. With its big-city excitement and high standard of living, the Port of Mumbai attracts people from all over the country, making it a mixing pot for many cultures. The Port of Mumbai is also the gateway for more than half of India's sea-going passengers and an important cargo-handling seaport.

The Mumbai Port Trust administers the Port of Mumbai through a board of Trustees representing the port's major stakeholder groups, including shippers, labor, and government. While the Board plays an administrative and management role, daily operations are led by department heads that are supervised by the Board's chairman. The Mumbai Port Trust strives to provide cost-effective customer-oriented services by continuously improving port systems and processes, assuring safety, and protecting the environment.

In the 2007-2008 shipping year, the Port of Mumbai handled a total of over 57 million tons of cargo, including 32.4 million tons of imports and 24.7 million tons of exports. The Port of Mumbai handled 1.4 million tons of containerized cargo in 117.6 thousand TEUs.

Imported cargoes through the Port of Mumbai were dominated by crude oil (12.7 million tons), stream cargo (6.4 million tons), miscellaneous cargoes (4.2 million tons), POL products (3.4 million tons), and iron and steel (2.8 million tons). Other imports included bulk chemicals, containers, edible oils, rock phosphate, fertilizers, and sulfur. Containerized imports of 627.3 thousand tons were in 71.7 thousand TEUs.

Port of Mumbai export cargoes were dominated by crude oil (13.7 million tons), POL products (7.2 million tons), iron and steel (1.3 million tons), containers (886 thousand tons), miscellaneous cargoes (647 thousand tons), sugar (587 thousand tons), and bulk chemicals (102 thousand tons). Other exports included molasses, oil cakes, edible oil, and food grains. Containerized exports of 763.4 thousand tons were in 45.8 thousand TEUs.
With a 400 square kilometer natural deep-water harbor, the Port of Mumbai is protected by the mainland to the east and the island of Mumbai to the west. The Port of Mumbai has a total area of 46.3 hectares, total quay length of 7.8 thousand meters, and 63 anchorage points. Pilotage is necessary for vessels of 100 tons and above entering and leaving the harbor. The Port of Mumbai includes three enclosed wet docks: Prince's Dock, Victoria Dock, and Indira Dock. Prince's and Victoria are both semi-tidal docks.

Commissioned in 1880, the Port of Mumbai's Prince's Dock is the oldest of the three. It contains eight berths with alongside depth of 6.4 meters. The Victoria Dock, commissioned in 1888, has 14 berths with alongside depth of 6.7 meters. The youngest, Indira Dock, was commissioned in 1914. It has a 228.6-meter-long, 30.5-meter-wide entrance lock and a total of 26 berths (21 inside the basin and 5 on the harbor wall). The berths inside the harbor have alongside depth of about 9 meters, and the at the harbor wall have alongside depth of about 7 meters.

The Prince's Dock's eight berths total 1220 meters long and have alongside depths from 6.1 to 6.4 meters. Two of those Port of Mumbai berths are 212 meters long, four are 140 meters long, two are 138 meters long, and one is 100 meters long.

The Port of Mumbai's Victoria Dock has 14 multi-purpose berths a total of 1732 meters long, all with alongside depth of 6.7 meters. Eight of those berths are each 122 meters long. Three are 152 meters long, and three are 100 meters long. A 15th berth at Victoria Dock is reserved for Mumbai Port Trust tugs and launches.
Four Port of Mumbai jetties, handling petroleum, oil, and lubricant (POL) tankers, are located at Jawahar Dweep. Two jetties can accommodate tankers up to 70 thousand DWT, and the newest jetty can handle tankers up to 125 thousand DWT with maximum draft of 12.2 meters. An offshore berth at the Port of Mumbai's Pir Pau handles liquid chemicals and some POL cargoes, and it can accommodate tankers of up to 47 thousand DWT with a maximum draft of 11.1 meters.

The Indira Dock in the Port of Mumbai contains five berths totaling 812 meters in length that handle containers. While all berths have alongside depths from 8.8 to 9.1 meters, four of the berths are 158 meters long. The fifth container berth is 180 meters long. Three Indira Dock berths totaling 474 meters in length handle general and bulk cargoes. Each berth is 158 meters long alongside depths from 8.8 to 9.1 meters.

The Port of Mumbai's Indira Dock contains 15 multi-purpose berths totaling 2641 meters. One berth is 183 meters long alongside depth of 7.5 meters. Four multi-purpose berths at Indira Dock are 180 meters long with alongside depths from 8.8 to 9.1 meters. Three berths are each 168 meters long alongside depth of 7.5 meters. Three multi-purpose berths are 158 meters long alongside depths from 8.8 to 9.1 meters, and five are 152 meters long alongside depths from 8.8 to 9.1 meters. The Indira Dock also contains one 152-meter-long berth for general cargo and tankers and one 130-meter-long berth for heavy lift cargoes. Each of these Port of Mumbai berths has alongside depths from 8.8 to 9.1 meters.

At 244 meters long alongside depth of 9.5 meters, the Port of Mumbai's Ballard Pier Station handles containers. The Ballard Pier Extension container berth is 244 meters long alongside depth of 10 meters. The Ballard Pier Extension passenger berth is 232 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters.

The New Ferry Wharf in the Port of Mumbai contains two berths for ferries. The Ferry Jetty for passengers is 312 meters long with alongside depth of 3.2 meters. The berth for ferry ships is 249 meters long with alongside depth of 3.2 meters.

Six Port of Mumbai berths handle POL and chemicals. Four of these berths are located at Jawahar Dweep. Three of the Jawahar Dweep berths are each 244 meters long with alongside depths of 11.6 (two berths that can accommodate vessels up to 70 thousand DWT) and 11.0 meters (one berth that can accommodate vessels to 48 thousand DWT). The Port of Mumbai's Jawahar Dweep 4 is 493 meters long alongside depth of 14.3 meters and can accommodate vessels to 125 thousand DWT. The old Pier Pau Jetty is 174 meters long alongside depth of 9.7 meters and can accommodate vessels to 19 thousand DWT. The new Pir Pau Jetty is 197 meters long with alongside depth of 12 meters and can accommodate vessels of 47 thousand DWT.

The Port of Mumbai has four berths with a total length of 796 meters dedicated to ship repairs. Two berths at Prince's Dock have alongside depths from 6.1 to 6.4 meters and are 431 and 75 meters long. The ship repair berths at Indira Dock are 168 and 122 meters long, both with alongside depth of 7.0 meters.

In addition to the Port of Mumbai's wet docks, the port has several open wharves and basins serving sailing vessels carrying cargo. These wharves and basins have a total quay length of 12.5 thousand meters and are equipped with ample cargo-handling and storage facilities.

The Port of Mumbai offers ample storage areas in the docks and in outlying areas. Warehouses are available for temporary storage of goods in transit for delivery within Mumbai or its hinterland. Pre-shipment facilities are available for storage of sugar, iron and steel, oil cakes, and many other products. In total, the Port of Mumbai offers 319.9 thousand square meters of covered storage, almost 176 thousand square meters of open storage, and 12.8 thousand ground slots. The port also offers 208 reefer points for refrigerated cargo.

With 72 ground slots, the Prince's Dock in the Port of Mumbai offers 21.1 thousand square meters of covered storage and 6.2 thousand square meters of open storage. With 609 ground slots, Victoria Dock has 18.8 thousand square meters of covered storage and 1.9 thousand square meters of open storage. Indira Dock has 2615 ground slots, 98.7 thousand square meters of covered storage, and 104.2 thousand square meters of open storage. Container freight stations in the Port of Mumbai have 8011 ground slots and 59.8 thousand square meters of covered storage. The Port of Mumbai's warehouses offer an additional 121.6 thousand square meters of covered space, 63.7 thousand square meters of open space, and 353 slots. Its container yards have 1150 ground slots.

The Port of Mumbai is served by a network of 126 kilometers of roads, and it owns and operates its own railway that is connected to the national rail network. The railway has a network of about 100 kilometers of tracks, and it operates its own fleet of five locomotives.