The Port of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is a deep natural harbor onIndia's northwest coast just six nautical miles west of theJawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva and some 432 nautical milessouth-southeast of the Port of Kandla. One of the world's largestmunicipalities, with its suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, the Portof Mumbai's metropolitan area of some 19 million people is thefifth most populous in the world.
The Port of Mumbai is the capital of the Maharashtra state andIndia's commercial and entertainment center. One of the mostimportant commercial centers in the world, the Port of Mumbai ishome to India's major financial institutions with many headquartersfor Indian corporations and branch headquarters for lots ofmulti-national corporations. Known as Bollywood, the Port of Mumbaiis the center for the Hindi entertainment industry. With itsbig-city excitement and high standard of living, the Port of Mumbaiattracts people from all over the country, making it a mixing potfor many cultures. The Port of Mumbai is also the gateway for morethan half of India's sea-going passengers and an importantcargo-handling seaport.Port History
While archeological evidence suggests human occupation duringthe Stone Age, the earliest known inhabitants of the Port of Mumbaiarea were Koli fishermen. As early as 300 BC, the ancient Greekscalled the area Heptanesia (meaning a cluster of seven islands),and it was a trade center with both Egypt and Persia in 1000BC.
In the 3rd Century BC, it was part of the Asoka Empire, and thePort of Mumbai was ruled by the Calukyas from the 6th to 8thCentury. The Yadavas of Devagiri, who ruled from 1187 to 1318,created a settlement on Bombay Island due to raids in 1294 by theKhalji Dynasty. Their descendants still live in the Port ofMumbai.
Muslim armies invaded and conquered the area in 1348, when itbecame part of the Kingdom of Gujarat. Though the Portuguese failedin a 1507 attempt, they won the Port of Mumbai in 1534. Then in1661, it fell to the British Empire when the sister of Portugal'sking married King Charles II. The English crown soon granted thePort of Mumbai area to the British East India Company.
At first, the English did not consider the Port of Mumbai (orBombay) a valuable asset to the Empire. Mainland powers -- theMughals, Marathas, and Gujarat princes -- were more powerful thanthe British. But the end of the 18th Century brought many changes.Instability among mainland powers drove refugees, includingmerchants and artisans, to the island, and the Port of Mumbai beganto grow.
In 1853, India's first passenger railway line started there. By1860, the Port of Mumbai was the biggest cotton market in India,with many spinning and weaving mills located there. When theAmerican Civil War cut off Britain's cotton supplies from the NewWorld, the Port of Mumbai underwent a tremendous boom in trade andbecame the world's cotton trade center until the end of the war.When the Suez Canal was opened in 1869, the Port of Mumbaiprospered despite the slums and unhealthy conditions brought withits growing population. Bombay suffered an outbreak of plague in1896, and new projects were started to provide homes for theartisan classes.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Port of Mumbai was apolitical center for nationalist and regional interests. The firstsession of the Indian National Congress was held there in 1885, aswas the 1942 session where the Congress demanded independence forIndia.
After World War II, new residential growth began in the Port ofMumbai's suburban areas, and the municipal government covered allof Greater Bombay. It was the scene of passionate protests againstthe two-language structure that led to the partition of Bombaystate into the today's states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Portof Mumbai became the capital of the State of Maharashtra in1960.
In the 1970s, the Port of Mumbai experienced another wave ofimmigration, with associated construction boom, and Bombay overtookKolkata (Calcutta) as the country's largest city. In 1992-93,secular riots cost many lives and much property when localMaharashtrians became overwhelmed about the loss of their culture.In 1995, the old Bombay was renamed Mumbai, reflecting its historicbeginnings. Since that time, terrorist attacks by Islamicextremists have disrupted life for Mumbai's citizens. In late 2008,the Port of Mumbai suffered a dramatic and deadly attack byterrorists that killed over 170 people and held the city hostagefor three days.Port Commerce
The Mumbai Port Trust administers the Port of Mumbai through aboard of Trustees representing the port's major stakeholder groups,including shippers, labor, and government. While the Board plays anadministrative and management role, daily operations are led bydepartment heads that are supervised by the Board's chairman. TheMumbai Port Trust strives to provide cost-effectivecustomer-oriented services by continuously improving port systemsand processes, assuring safety, and protecting the environment.
In the 2007-2008 shipping year, the Port of Mumbai handled atotal of over 57 million tons of cargo, including 32.4 million tonsof imports and 24.7 million tons of exports. The Port of Mumbaihandled 1.4 million tons of containerized cargo in 117.6 thousandTEUs.
Imported cargoes through the Port of Mumbai were dominated bycrude oil (12.7 million tons), stream cargo (6.4 million tons),miscellaneous cargoes (4.2 million tons), POL products (3.4 milliontons), and iron and steel (2.8 million tons). Other importsincluded bulk chemicals, containers, edible oils, rock phosphate,fertilizers, and sulfur. Containerized imports of 627.3 thousandtons were in 71.7 thousand TEUs.
Port of Mumbai export cargoes were dominated by crude oil (13.7million tons), POL products (7.2 million tons), iron and steel (1.3million tons), containers (886 thousand tons), miscellaneouscargoes (647 thousand tons), sugar (587 thousand tons), and bulkchemicals (102 thousand tons). Other exports included molasses, oilcakes, edible oil, and food grains. Containerized exports of 763.4thousand tons were in 45.8 thousand TEUs.
With a 400 square kilometer natural deep-water harbor, the Portof Mumbai is protected by the mainland to the east and the islandof Mumbai to the west. The Port of Mumbai has a total area of 46.3hectares, total quay length of 7.8 thousand meters, and 63anchorage points. Pilotage is necessary for vessels of 100 tons andabove entering and leaving the harbor. The Port of Mumbai includesthree enclosed wet docks: Prince's Dock, Victoria Dock, and IndiraDock. Prince's and Victoria are both semi-tidal docks.
Commissioned in 1880, the Port of Mumbai's Prince's Dock is theoldest of the three. It contains eight berths with alongside depthof 6.4 meters. The Victoria Dock, commissioned in 1888, has 14berths with alongside depth of 6.7 meters. The youngest, IndiraDock, was commissioned in 1914. It has a 228.6-meter-long,30.5-meter-wide entrance lock and a total of 26 berths (21 insidethe basin and 5 on the harbor wall). The berths inside the harborhave alongside depth of about 9 meters, and the at the harbor wallhave alongside depth of about 7 meters.
The Prince's Dock's eight berths total 1220 meters long and havealongside depths from 6.1 to 6.4 meters. Two of those Port ofMumbai berths are 212 meters long, four are 140 meters long, twoare 138 meters long, and one is 100 meters long.
The Port of Mumbai's Victoria Dock has 14 multi-purpose berths atotal of 1732 meters long, all with alongside depth of 6.7 meters.Eight of those berths are each 122 meters long. Three are 152meters long, and three are 100 meters long. A 15th berth atVictoria Dock is reserved for Mumbai Port Trust tugs andlaunches.
Four Port of Mumbai jetties, handling petroleum, oil, andlubricant (POL) tankers, are located at Jawahar Dweep. Two jettiescan accommodate tankers up to 70 thousand DWT, and the newest jettycan handle tankers up to 125 thousand DWT with maximum draft of12.2 meters. An offshore berth at the Port of Mumbai's Pir Pauhandles liquid chemicals and some POL cargoes, and it canaccommodate tankers of up to 47 thousand DWT with a maximum draftof 11.1 meters.
The Indira Dock in the Port of Mumbai contains five berthstotaling 812 meters in length that handle containers. While allberths have alongside depths from 8.8 to 9.1 meters, four of theberths are 158 meters long. The fifth container berth is 180 meterslong. Three Indira Dock berths totaling 474 meters in length handlegeneral and bulk cargoes. Each berth is 158 meters long alongsidedepths from 8.8 to 9.1 meters.
The Port of Mumbai's Indira Dock contains 15 multi-purposeberths totaling 2641 meters. One berth is 183 meters long alongsidedepth of 7.5 meters. Four multi-purpose berths at Indira Dock are180 meters long with alongside depths from 8.8 to 9.1 meters. Threeberths are each 168 meters long alongside depth of 7.5 meters.Three multi-purpose berths are 158 meters long alongside depthsfrom 8.8 to 9.1 meters, and five are 152 meters long alongsidedepths from 8.8 to 9.1 meters. The Indira Dock also contains one152-meter-long berth for general cargo and tankers and one130-meter-long berth for heavy lift cargoes. Each of these Port ofMumbai berths has alongside depths from 8.8 to 9.1 meters.
At 244 meters long alongside depth of 9.5 meters, the Port ofMumbai's Ballard Pier Station handles containers. The Ballard PierExtension container berth is 244 meters long alongside depth of 10meters. The Ballard Pier Extension passenger berth is 232 meterslong with alongside depth of 10 meters.
The New Ferry Wharf in the Port of Mumbai contains two berthsfor ferries. The Ferry Jetty for passengers is 312 meters long withalongside depth of 3.2 meters. The berth for ferry ships is 249meters long with alongside depth of 3.2 meters.
Six Port of Mumbai berths handle POL and chemicals. Four ofthese berths are located at Jawahar Dweep. Three of the JawaharDweep berths are each 244 meters long with alongside depths of 11.6(two berths that can accommodate vessels up to 70 thousand DWT) and11.0 meters (one berth that can accommodate vessels to 48 thousandDWT). The Port of Mumbai's Jawahar Dweep 4 is 493 meters longalongside depth of 14.3 meters and can accommodate vessels to 125thousand DWT. The old Pier Pau Jetty is 174 meters long alongsidedepth 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 12meters and can accommodate vessels of 47 thousand DWT.
The Port of Mumbai has four berths with a total length of 796meters dedicated to ship repairs. Two berths at Prince's Dock havealongside depths from 6.1 to 6.4 meters and are 431 and 75 meterslong. The ship repair berths at Indira Dock are 168 and 122 meterslong, both with alongside depth of 7.0 meters.
In addition to the Port of Mumbai's wet docks, the port hasseveral open wharves and basins serving sailing vessels carryingcargo. These wharves and basins have a total quay length of 12.5thousand meters and are equipped with ample cargo-handling andstorage facilities.
The Port of Mumbai offers ample storage areas in the docks andin outlying areas. Warehouses are available for temporary storageof goods in transit for delivery within Mumbai or its hinterland.Pre-shipment facilities are available for storage of sugar, ironand steel, oil cakes, and many other products. In total, the Portof Mumbai offers 319.9 thousand square meters of covered storage,almost 176 thousand square meters of open storage, and 12.8thousand ground slots. The port also offers 208 reefer points forrefrigerated cargo.
With 72 ground slots, the Prince's Dock in the Port of Mumbaioffers 21.1 thousand square meters of covered storage and 6.2thousand square meters of open storage. With 609 ground slots,Victoria Dock has 18.8 thousand square meters of covered storageand 1.9 thousand square meters of open storage. Indira Dock has2615 ground slots, 98.7 thousand square meters of covered storage,and 104.2 thousand square meters of open storage. Container freightstations in the Port of Mumbai have 8011 ground slots and 59.8thousand square meters of covered storage. The Port of Mumbai'swarehouses offer an additional 121.6 thousand square meters ofcovered space, 63.7 thousand square meters of open space, and 353slots. Its container yards have 1150 ground slots.
The Port of Mumbai is served by a network of 126 kilometers ofroads, and it owns and operates its own railway that is connectedto the national rail network. The railway has a network of about100 kilometers of tracks, and it operates its own fleet of fivelocomotives.
