India's Ports, Ships and Seas
Coastal Shipping and Inland Waterways
Why moving goods by coastal ships and rivers is cheaper and cleaner, why India uses them so little, and efforts to expand them.
Moving goods by water is often the cheapest and cleanest way per tonne.
Coastal shipping
Ships can carry goods between Indian ports, like coal from Paradip to Tamil Nadu power plants.
- The Coastal Shipping Act, 2025 aims to simplify rules and grow Indian coastal shipping.
Inland waterways
India declared 111 national waterways in 2016. Key ones:
- National Waterway 1: the Ganga from Haldia to Prayagraj.
- NW-2: the Brahmaputra.
- NW-3: the West Coast Canal in Kerala.
Why they’re underused
- Shallow water in dry seasons.
- Lack of terminals and connections.
- Slow compared with roads.
- Double handling costs.
Growth
Cargo on national waterways has grown in recent years, from a low base, with big increases in the Ganga and Brahmaputra traffic.
Benefits
- Lower costs and emissions.
- Less congestion on roads and rail.
A barge carries fertiliser along the Ganga from Haldia to Varanasi. It moves slowly, but the cost per tonne is lower than trucks, and it takes trucks off crowded highways.
It is cheap and clean per tonne and is growing again.
- Water transport is cheap and clean per tonne.
- India declared 111 national waterways in 2016.
- Shallow water and weak terminals limit use.
- Cargo has grown and new laws aim to boost coastal shipping.
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