Mumbai Port Trust (also known as the Bombay Port Trust) is a port which lies midway on the West coast of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, on the natural deep-water
harbour
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
of
Mumbai (Bombay)
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
in
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
.The harbour spread over is protected by the mainland of
Konkan
The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...
to its east and north and by the island city of
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
to its west.
[ The harbour opens to the south to the ]Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
.
The port is administered by the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT, formerly the Bombay Port Trust (BPT)), an autonomous corporation wholly owned by the Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
. The port is primarily used for bulk cargo, while most container
A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping.
Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
traffic is directed to Nhava Sheva
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) or JLN Port, also known as Nhava Sheva Port, is the second largest container port in India after Mundra Port. Located in Navi Mumbai's Raigad district, this port on the Arabian Sea is accessed via Thane Creek ...
port across the harbour.
History
Mumbai Harbour
Mumbai Harbour (also English; Bombay Harbour or Front Bay, Marathi''Mumba'ī bandar''), is a natural deep-water harbour in the southern portion of the Ulhas River estuary. The narrower, northern part of the estuary is called Thana Creek. The ha ...
has been used by ships and boats for centuries. It was used by the Maratha
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...
Navy, as well as the British and Portuguese colonial navies. In 1652, the Surat Council of the East India Company, realising the geographical advantage of the Port, urged its purchase from the Portuguese. Their wish was gratified nine years later when, under the Marriage Treaty between Charles II of Great Britain and the Infant Catherine of Portugal, the ‘Port and Island of Bombay’ were transferred to the king of Great Britain
The first of the present-day docks of the Port were built in the 1870s.[ ''Bombay Port Trust'' (BPT) was established as a corporation on 26 June 1873.][Mumbai Port Trust is 125]
''Indian Express''. 26 June 1997. BPT's founding chairman was Colonel J.A. Ballard.
Port development was undertaken by the civil engineering partnership Sir John Wolfe-Barry
Sir John Wolfe Barry (7 December 1836 – 22 January 1918), the youngest son of famous architect Sir Charles Barry, was an English civil engineer of the late 19th and early 20th century. His most famous project is Tower Bridge over the River ...
and Lt Col Arthur John Barry
Lieutenant Colonel Arthur John Barry (1859-1943) was an English civil engineer and architect of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Early life
Arthur John Barry was the fourth child of the architect Charles Barry, Jr. and his wife Harrie ...
as Joint Consulting Engineers to the Bombay Port Trust at the end of the nineteenth century.[Frederick Arthur Crisp (1906]
''Visitation of England and Wales''
Volume 14, London.
From its establishment, the port has been the gateway to India, and was a primary factor in the emergence of Mumbai as the commercial capital of India. The port and the corporation took their present names in the 1990s.
Over the decades, the port underwent tremendous expansion, with the addition of berths and cargo handling capacities. However, Mumbai's expanding growth and population pressure constrained the growth of the port by the 1970s. This led to the establishment of the Nhava Sheva
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) or JLN Port, also known as Nhava Sheva Port, is the second largest container port in India after Mundra Port. Located in Navi Mumbai's Raigad district, this port on the Arabian Sea is accessed via Thane Creek ...
port across Mumbai Harbour in Navi Mumbai
Navi Mumbai (), is a planned city situated on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, located in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, on the mainland of India.
Navi Mumbai is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The city is ...
on the Konkan
The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...
mainland. Nhava Sheva began operations in 1989, and most container traffic now flows through Nhava Sheva.
With a minimum draft of . Victoria Dock, commissioned in 1891, had 14 berths as of 2008 with a minimum draft of . Indira Dock, commissioned in 1914, had 21 berths, with a minimum draft of . Prince's Dock and Victoria Dock are semi-tidal docks, with vessels docking and departing at high tide. Indira Dock has a lock
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
, enabling vessels to enter or depart at any time.
The port has four jetties on ''Jawahar Dweep'', an island in the harbour, for handling Crude and petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
products. These jetties have a draft of . Liquid chemicals are handled from a jetty on ''Pirpau''.
Ballard Pier Extension has a passenger terminal, including immigration clearance facilities for crews and passengers of cruise liners.
The port has a total of 69 anchorage points. A pilot is mandatory for all vessels of over 100 tonnes net weightage.[Facilities]
mumbaiport.gov.in
See also
* Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic af ...
* Nhava Sheva Port
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Ports and harbours of Maharashtra
Estuaries of Mumbai
Transport in Mumbai
Companies based in Mumbai
Economy of Mumbai
Economy of Maharashtra