PIB TrackerKamarajar Port becomes India's second major port with an 18-metre 'Cape-compliant' draft
After completing Capital Dredging Phase VI, Chennai's Kamarajar Port can now handle fully laden Capesize vessels of up to 1,70,000 DWT at an 18-metre draft — becoming India's second major port after Visakhapatnam to do so, and boosting EXIM competitiveness.
What happened
- Kamarajar Port (Chennai) now offers an 18-metre operational draft after completing Capital Dredging Phase VI.
- It can handle fully laden Capesize vessels of up to 1,70,000 DWT — it is now 'Cape Compliant'.
- It becomes India's second major port after Visakhapatnam to offer an 18-metre draft.
- The ₹440 crore project deepened the outer approach channel (20→23 m) and inner entrance (19→22 m), plus berths and the harbour basin.
- Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said larger vessels will cut freight costs and boost EXIM trade, under Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
For Prelims
- Kamarajar Port: Located near Chennai (Tamil Nadu); formerly Ennore Port, it is India's first corporatised major port (registered as a company) and 'Asia's first energy port'.
- Draft: The vertical depth of water a ship needs to float; a deeper port draft lets bigger, fully laden ships call.
- Capesize: Very large bulk carriers too big for the Suez/Panama Canals, so they round the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn — hence the name; DWT = deadweight tonnage (cargo capacity).
- Major ports: India has 13 major ports (under the Centre, governed by the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021); Kamarajar is one — Visakhapatnam is the other 18 m-draft port.
- Maritime India Vision 2030 / Amrit Kaal Vision 2047: India's roadmaps for port capacity, shipbuilding and maritime logistics (linked to Sagarmala).
- Capital dredging: One-time deepening to increase a channel's depth (vs. maintenance dredging, which just keeps the existing depth).
For UPSC: Read this as port-led logistics competitiveness — deeper draft enabling economies of scale, lower freight and larger EXIM throughput. Anchor the major-ports framework (Major Port Authorities Act 2021), Sagarmala, Maritime India Vision 2030 / Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, and the trade-cost and PM GatiShakti connections.
What it is NOT: This is a port-capability upgrade (deeper draft via capital dredging), not a new port or a change in ownership. Kamarajar is now the second — not the only — Indian major port with an 18-metre draft, after Visakhapatnam.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.9 · Linkage L2
Anchor
Port infrastructure as trade competitiveness — deeper drafts and larger vessels cutting logistics costs and expanding EXIM capacity.
Substantiation (data)
Kamarajar Port's 18 m draft after ₹440 crore Capital Dredging Phase VI; handles Capesize vessels up to 1,70,000 DWT; India's second such major port after Visakhapatnam.
Exemplification
Deepened outer (23 m) and inner (22 m) channels; economies of scale from larger vessels; alignment with Maritime India Vision 2030 / Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
Problematisation
Sustaining draft needs recurring maintenance dredging (cost, spoil disposal, coastal-ecology impacts); hinterland connectivity and evacuation must keep pace with larger ships.
Way-forward
Pair draft upgrades with GatiShakti-led rail/road connectivity, sustainable dredging, and cargo diversification to realise the freight-cost gains.
Position
Government stance: world-class, future-ready ports to lower logistics costs and position India as a leading maritime nation.
Deploys into: Infrastructure — ports and logistics (GS3.9 — port capacity, EXIM competitiveness) · Sagarmala, Maritime India Vision 2030 / Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, the Major Port Authorities Act 2021, and PM GatiShakti-led connectivity.
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways · 2026-07-07 · PRID 2282243 · PIB source ↗