The Paradip Port Trust operates as an autonomous body under India's 1963 Major Port Trusts Act. Operating under the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport, and Highways, the Port of Paradip is administered by a Board of Trustees set up by the national government and headed by a Chairman. The Board of Trustees is made up of representatives of stakeholder groups that include shippers, ship owners, port labor, and government. The daily operations are carried out under the control of the Chairman through the chair's deputies and department heads

The Port of Paradip is an important gateway for sea-borne trade in eastern India and serves a vast hinterland that includes the states of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. This hinterland contains huge volumes of natural resources, and the value of ores moving through the Port of Paradip are significantly greater than other ports in India.

The 2005-2006 shipping season was a record-setting year for the Port of Paradip. The port handled a total of more than 38.5 million tons of cargo, a 16% increase over the prior year. This included 26.5 million tons of rail-borne traffic through the Port of Paradip's railway system. The Port of Paradip served 1452 vessels in 2005-2006, setting records in both the amount of exports (24.9 million tons) and imports (13.6 million tons). Records included iron ore handled (11.9 million tons), pig iron exported (580 thousand tons), and coking coal handled (4.3 million tons).

The man-made harbor of the Port of Paradip is a lagoon-type harbor with a dredged channel approach. The north breakwater is 538 meters long, and the south breakwater is 1217 meters long. The approach channels to the Port of Paradip harbor include the main approach channel (2020 meters long, 190 meters wide, and 12.9 meters deep), the entrance channel (500 meters long, 160 meters wide, and 12.9 meters deep), and the turning basin (520 meters in diameter).

The first port facility, the mechanized Iron Ore Berth in the Port of Paradip was commissioned in 1966. The jetty is 155 meters long and 13.75 meters wide. Distance from dolphin to dolphin is 320 meters. The Iron Ore Berth can accommodate vessels up to 260 meters long, 40 meters maximum beam, and 13.2 maximum permissible draft. The Port of Paradip's Iron Ore Plant has capacity to handle 2500 metric tons per hour and four million tons of cargo per year. The berth is also used for loading/unloading other bulk ores and transshipping petroleum products in the absence of ore vessels.

The Port of Paradip's mechanized Coal-handling Plant was commissioned in 2001. With annual capacity for 20 million tons of cargo, it can accommodate Panamax vessels to 65 thousand DWT. The 520-meter long berth has alongside depth of 14.3 meters, and it can accommodate two vessels at one time. The stack yard has capacity for 650 thousand tons.

The Port of Paradip contains seven berths with a total quay length of almost 1692 meters that handle general and breakbulk cargoes. Three berths on the East Quay total 686.6 meters. Two of the Port of Paradip's East Quay berths have alongside depth of 11.5 meters and can accommodate vessels to 260 meters in length and up to 40 thousand DWT. East Quay III has alongside depth of 12.5 meters and can accommodate vessels up to 230 meters long and to 60 thousand DWT.

The Central Quay in the Port of Paradip has three berths handling general and breakbulk cargoes. The berths have a total quay length of 755 meters with alongside depth of 13 meters, and each can accommodate vessels to 230 meters long and up to 60-65 thousand DWT. The Port of Paradip's MPB Berth is 250 meters long with alongside depth of 13 meters, and it can accommodate vessels up to 190 meters long and up to 40-45 thousand DWT.

The Port of Paradip's two Coal Berths are a total of 520 meters long with alongside depth of 15 meters. Handling thermal coal, the berths can accommodate vessels to 260 meters long and up to 60-75 thousand DWT. The two coal berths have capacity to handle 20 million tons of cargo per year.

Two Fertilizer Berths in the Port of Paradip handle raw fertilizer materials. Each has alongside depth of 13 meters, and they are 252 and 230 meters long. The berths can accommodate vessels to 230 meters long and up to 60-65 thousand DWT. The fertilizer berths can accommodate 2.6 million tons of cargo per year. The fertilizer berths are dedicated to M/s Paradip Phosphates Limited and M/s IFFCO for handling bulk and liquid cargoes.

The Port of Paradip's South Quay berth handles petroleum, oil, and lubricant (POL) products. The berth is 265 meters long alongside depth of 12.5 meters and can accommodate vessels to 230 meters long and to 50 thousand DWT. The Oil Jetty, also handling POL products in the Port of Paradip, is 290 meters long with alongside depth of 14 meters, and it can accommodate vessels to 260 meters long and up to 65 thousand DWT. Together, the Port of Paradip's two POL berths can handle a total 7.5 million tons of cargo per year.

The Port of Paradip also contains facilities for handling a limited number of containers. Located near the cargo berth, the stack yard can accommodate a total of one thousand TEUs, with public and private facilities combined. The Port of Paradip plans to increase its container-handling capacity to serve the needs of importers and exporters throughout the port's hinterland. Studies are underway for a container freight station, a new container berth, and a container parking yard.

The Port of Paradip is Orissa state's biggest marine fishing port. About 300 boats and 50 trawlers operate from the Port of Paradip, and a new integrated Fishery Harbor with capacity for 370 boats and a total of 145 trawlers has been developed in the Port of Paradip.

The Port of Paradip contains four transship sheds and two warehouses outside the port area, including one 1.4-thousand square meter fertilizer shed with capacity for 3.3 thousand metric tons. The remaining three transit sheds cover a total of 14.7 thousand square meters and have capacity for a total of 26.7 thousand metric tons of cargo. The two Port of Paradip warehouses cover a total of 7.7 thousand square meters and have combined capacity for 18 thousand metric tons.

The Port of Paradip also manages a 12.4 thousand square meter warehouse taken over from CWC with capacity for 28.4 thousand metric tons. The Port of Paradip's open stack yards covering some 150 thousand square meters of stacking area with capacity for over 2.7 million metric tons of cargo. The stacking yards have road and rail connections.

The Port of Paradip has a total of 68 liquid storage tanks with total capacity for 532 thousand tons of liquid cargo.

Review and History    Port Commerce    Cruising and Travel    Satellite Map    Contact Information