Cochin Port

Cochin Port (Cochin Port Authority) is one of India's oldest major ports — opened in 1928 by the British Madras Presidency as the principal port serving south-western India. The port has been continuously operational for nearly a century and remains south India's largest port, handling ~35 million tonnes of cargo annually.

The port complex is unique in India for its scale + diversity: 21 berths spanning the natural Cochin harbour (formed by the Vembanad Lake estuary), including 1 dedicated container terminal (managed by DP World), 6 multi-cargo berths, 4 liquid-bulk berths, and 2 specialty berths for tea/coffee + spice cargo.

The most significant adjacent infrastructure is the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT Vallarpadam), opened in 2011 as India's first deep-water transhipment terminal — making Cochin a strategic transhipment competitor to Colombo, Singapore, and Dubai before Vizhinjam (2024) was built. ICTT Vallarpadam is connected by the dedicated 4.62 km Vembanad Rail Bridge for rail freight access.

Another distinctive feature: Cochin Port operates the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) — India's largest shipbuilding facility, which built INS Vikrant (India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, commissioned 2022). The Cochin Port + Shipyard complex is among India's most diversified maritime industrial clusters.