Chennai Port handled 57.9 million tonnes of cargo in 2025-26, the most in its history and 5.35% more than the 54.96 million tonnes of 2024-25, according to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways’ April to March traffic table. That put it ahead of its northern neighbour, Kamarajar Port at Ennore, which handled 49.08 million tonnes in the same year.
The new financial year has started more slowly. For April to July 2026, the ministry’s advance estimates show Chennai at 18.72 million tonnes, 5.76% below the same four months of 2025, while major ports across India grew 6.84%. Here is what the port at the foot of Rajaji Salai actually handles, where it came from and what is being built there now.
The headline numbers
| Measure | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Total cargo | 57.90 million tonnes (up 5.35%) | 2025-26 |
| Total cargo | 54.96 million tonnes | 2024-25 |
| Containers | 1.94 million TEUs (up 6.59%) | 2025-26 |
| Cars shipped | Over 2 lakh (up 7.4%) | 2025-26 |
| Crude oil | 11.45 million tonnes (up 11.17%) | 2025-26 |
| Total cargo | 18.72 million tonnes (down 5.76%) | April-July 2026 |
Tonnage figures come from the shipping ministry tables. The container, car and crude figures were reported by Cargo Connect in May 2026 from the port authority’s year-end statement; the ministry’s monthly tables give only national container totals, not a port-by-port split. A TEU is a twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard way of counting containers, so a 40-foot box counts as two.
What moves through the port
Containers are the core of the business. Two privately run terminals do most of that work, according to the port’s Land Use Plan 2022:
- Chennai Container Terminal (CCTPL) at Bharathi Dock, berths 20B to 23B, run by DP World on a 30-year build-operate-transfer contract, with capacity of about 1.6 million TEUs a year.
- Chennai International Container Terminal (CITPL) at Dr Ambedkar Dock, berths 3A to 5A, commissioned in 2009 and run by a consortium of PSA Singapore and SICAL Logistics, with capacity of about 1.5 million TEUs a year.
Container Corporation of India also runs a port-side terminal for rail-linked boxes. Beyond containers, the same plan lists crude oil and petroleum products, car exports, edible oil, molasses, chemicals, fertilisers, food grains and general cargo, plus cruise and passenger traffic. The 2025-26 crude figure, the highest ever handled at the port, reflects the refinery traffic that has long been part of its mix. The port also said it attracted new commodities in 2025-26, including pulses, food grains and bagged rice.
Cars matter too. The two lakh vehicles shipped in 2025-26 are mostly from the manufacturing belt around Sriperumbudur and Oragadam, which uses both Chennai and Kamarajar ports for exports.
The layout: three docks, 27 berths
The Land Use Plan describes three docks: Bharathi Dock with 10 berths, Dr Ambedkar Dock with 11 and Jawahar Dock with 6, for 27 berths in all, including a bunker berth that was under construction in 2022. Total quay length is about 6 km. The deepest berths take vessels with a draught of up to 17.4 m, and the approach channel runs about 7 km, with depths of 19.2 m in its outer section and 18.6 m inside.
On land, the plan puts the port’s estate at about 827 acres, most of it inside the customs bond area, with a water spread of about 159 hectares. Hemmed in by the city on one side and the sea on the other, the port has little room to grow outward, which is one reason Kamarajar Port was built at Ennore.
From an open roadstead to a harbour: 1875 to 1920
Madras had no natural harbour. Ships anchored offshore and goods came in on surf boats. Work on the Madras Harbour Works began in 1875, with a plaque laid by the Prince of Wales, and the port started commercial operations in 1881 with breakwaters and an eastern entrance, India Seatrade News reported in a piece on the port’s heritage plans. Its first dock came in 1920, the same year the Stone Building, a hydraulic power house near Dr Ambedkar Dock, was built.
That Stone Building, about 5,974 sq ft and the oldest structure on the port campus, is to be restored by the PWD’s conservation division at a cost of more than Rs 5 crore and turned into a museum of old photographs and documents. Other relics include a stocked anchor more than a century old and the Dufferin Tower, which once housed the lights that guided ships in.
What is being built in 2026
- October 2026: On 11 October, the Prime Minister inaugurated four Chennai Port projects worth Rs 158.17 crore: four export-import godowns, a paved storage yard, a seafarers’ club and upgrades to the cruise terminal, India Shipping News reported.
- January 2026: During a review by the Union Shipping Secretary, the port took up projects worth Rs 54.27 crore, including an Andaman and Nicobar passenger terminal (Rs 29.8 crore) and an indigenous Vessel Traffic Monitoring System (Rs 22.58 crore), according to Swarajya. The Secretary also inspected the Outer Harbour project site.
Quick answers
How much cargo did Chennai Port handle in 2025-26?
57.90 million tonnes, its highest ever and 5.35% more than in 2024-25, according to the shipping ministry.
When did Chennai Port start working?
Harbour works began in 1875 and commercial operations started in 1881. The first enclosed dock came in 1920.
Is Chennai Port bigger than Kamarajar Port?
By tonnage in 2025-26, yes: 57.90 million tonnes against 49.08 million. In April to July 2026, though, Kamarajar grew 9% while Chennai fell almost 6%.
Who runs the container terminals?
DP World runs CCTPL at Bharathi Dock, and a PSA Singapore and SICAL consortium runs CITPL at Dr Ambedkar Dock, both on 30-year concessions.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- Cargo handled at Major Ports, April-March 2025-26 (Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways)
- Cargo handled at Major Ports, April-July 2026-27 (Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways)
- Land Use Plan 2022 (Chennai Port Authority)
- Chennai Port achieves historic throughput of 57.9 million tonnes in FY 2025-26 (Cargo Connect, May 2026)
- Harbour for heritage: Chennai Port gets into restoration mode (India Seatrade News)
- PM inaugurates four infrastructure projects worth Rs 158.17 crore of Chennai Port (India Shipping News, October 2026)
- Centre accelerates Chennai Port revamp with new passenger terminal, VTMS (Swarajya, January 2026)
