Port Pipavav, is a port on the west coast of India located in the

Amreli district Amreli district is one of the 33 administrative districts of the state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which ...

in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, 90 km South of

Amreli Amreli is a city and a municipality in Amreli district in Indian state of Gujarat. History It is believed that during 534 AD Amreli existed was formerly known as Anumanji, Amlik and then Amravati. The city is named in ancient Gujrati as ''Amar ...

, 15 km South of

Rajula Rajula is a city and municipality in Amreli district in the Indian state of Gujarat.The city was founded by Darbar Daha Bapu Dhakhada nearly 1759 AD, on the bank of river Dhatarvadi and among the hills called Piliyo and Rajuliyo; the Dhakhdas and ...

and 140 km Southwest of

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city and the headquarters of Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Gohil. It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state before it was merged into the Dominion ...

. The port has cargo operations for containers, bulk, liquid and roll-on/roll-off cargo and a shipyard that builds naval vessels.The port has been known for poor performance and inefficiency, In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, container volume declined 17.08% year-on-year. Dry bulk volume also fell 18% year-on-year.

History

Cargo port

In 1986 the Indian government authorized an expenditure of 5 million rupees to initiate port development near the village of Pipavav in Amreli district of the state of Gujarat in India. The company Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited was incorporated on 5 August 1992 to build, construct, operate and maintain the port. The company was initially a joint venture between GMB and the SKIL Ports & Logistics division of the SKIL Infrastructure group (now known as Mercantile Ports and Logistics (MPL)). In June 1998,

Gujarat Maritime Board Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) is a government agency of the Government of Gujarat, a state of India. It was founded in 1982 to control, manage and operate the minor ports of Gujarat. History The GMB was founded in 1982 under the Gujarat Maritime Bo ...

(GMB) divested its stake in favour of SKIL Ports & Logistics. In 2000, the port formed a joint venture with Indian Railways to start Pipavav Rail Corporation Limited. Commercial operations started in 2002. The A.P. Moller-Maersk Group acquired a 13.5% equity interest in the company in June 2001. Pursuant to the share sale and purchase agreement dated 30 March 2005, SKIL Infrastructure, Nikhil Gandhi, Montana Valves and Compressors and Grevek Investment and Finance divested their shareholding in the company in favour of APM Terminals.

Shipyard

Construction of a shipyard adjoining the port was completed in 2010 by Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company Limited. In 2011 the shipyard won its first contract to build warships for the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

. The shipyard company was renamed to Reliance Defence and Engineering on 3 March 2016 and again renamed to Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited on 6 September 2017. In January 2025 the company was renamed to

Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Limited Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Limited formerly known as Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited, Reliance Defence & Engineering Limited and prior to that as Pipavav Shipyard Limited (PSL) and Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Company L ...

Shialbet island

Shialbet island is a natural breakwater facing the wharves of the port. It is inhabited by a small fishing community and is connected to the mainland.

Cargo operations

The cargo port is owned by the public company Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd., and is operated by their majority owner APM Terminals, who are one of the largest

container terminal A container port, container terminal, or intermodal terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land v ...

operators in the world. Container, bulk, liquid, LPG an

Roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

cargo can be handled. Services provided include pilotage/towage, cargo handling and logistics support.

Port characteristics

The port is along the major trade routes and is close to the major Indian Port of

Nhava Sheva Jawaharlal Nehru Port, also known as JNPT and Nhava Sheva Port, is the second largest container port in India after Mundra Port. Operated by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Authority (JNPTA), it is located on the eastern shores of Arabian Sea ...

(about 160 Nm). It has been dredged to 14.5 m draft. There are 8 quay cranes for containers and 2 mobile harbor cranes for handling bulk cargo. For refrigerated shipping, the port is operated by a single entity i.e. it is a captive port.

References

{{Reflist 2002 establishments in Gujarat Infrastructure completed in 2002 Buildings and structures in Gujarat Ports and harbours of Gujarat Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange