The Port of Chennai (known before as Madras) is on the Coromandel Coast of southeastern India.
Port History
The capital of the Tamil Nadu state, the Port of Chennai has been an important military, economic, and administrative center since the 1st Century AD. In 1522, the Portuguese built a port there called Sao Tome after St Thomas, who preached there around 60 AD.
In 1639-40, the British East India Company found a fishing village, Chenna Patnam, and built a fort and trading post there. Weaving cotton fabric was a local industry, and the English brought in weavers to settle near their fort. From 1668 to 1749, the Company extended its control. By 1801, England was the master of southern India, and Madras was the capital.
From its 17th Century center (the fort and Indian quarters), Madras grew rapidly. Today, Madras contains seven large temples, buildings from the British period, and modern high-rises. Major industries include factories producing vehicles, rubber, and fertilizers and a refinery. Its major exports include iron ore, cotton textiles, and leather, while imports include iron and steel, raw cotton, wheat, and machinery.
Until 1875, the Port of Chennai was a simple open coast. In 1904, the Madras Port Trust created the North-Eastern Entrance and continued to develop the port from 1913 to 1936. Inaugurated in 1964, the wet dock was named Jawahar Dock in memory of India’s first Prime Minister, Shri. Jawaharlal Nehru. Many automobile manufacturers are located around the Port of Chennai, and large-scale auto exporting began in 2000.
Port Commerce
During the 1970s, the Bharathi Dock was constructed and expanded with an oil jetty, oil refinery, and iron ore berth. In 1985, another oil jetty was added to meet increasing demand for crude oil and petroleum products.
The Madras Port Trust built a container harbor at the Bharathi Dock in 1983, adding a 51 thousand square meter container storage yard and a 6 thousand square meter container freight station. In 1991, the terminal was expanded with additional cranes and infrastructure facilities. The terminal was privatized in 2001 with a 30-year agreement with M/s Chennai Container Terminal Private Ltd. When the City of Madras was renamed to Chennai in 1996, the Madras Port Trust was renamed as Chennai Port Trust.
The Port of Chennai contains two oil terminals that can handle tankers up to 140 thousand deadweight tons (DWT) and a total capacity of 12 million tons a year. The Port of Chennai’s iron oil terminals can handle 6 million tons a year. The Container Terminal in the Port of Chennai can handle 9.5 TEUs of containerized cargo, and it maintains 44-foot depth for vessels. The container terminal offers direct services to the United States, Europe, and China.
Cruising and Travel
The Port of Chennai is famous for its intricately-decorated temples. Madras offers the splendid St. George Fort (1640) filled with English and French antiques. The Port of Chennai contains the Guindy National Park, the Snake Park, and Anna Zoological Park for animal lovers. Other worthwhile attractions include the Birla Planetarium, Santhome Cathedral, the National Art and Government Museum, Valluvar Kottam, Kalakshetra, and Elliot Beach.
While its recorded history is only 350 years, many of the City of Chennai’s districts are much older and contain beautiful parks, historic neighborhoods, and relics of the Raj. Potential visitors to the beautiful Port of Chennai can visit the Indian Holiday website to find hotels, local tours, and comprehensive information on tourist attractions.
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