6 days ago
JNPA Climbs to 21st Among World’s Top Container Ports
JNPA is a large container port in India, also called Nhava Sheva.
It moved up seven places in the world rankings to 21st.
The port handled about 4.4 million standard containers in the first half of 2026.
That was 13.6% more than it handled in the same period in 2025.
More Indian imports and exports helped increase its business.
More terminal capacity also allowed it to handle additional containers.
Some cargo that normally traveled through the Middle East was redirected to Indian ports because of disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz.
Colombo port ranked just ahead of JNPA, while Mundra also made the global top 30.
Shanghai remained the busiest port in the ranking.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority rose from 28th to 21st globally in the H1 2026 container-port rankings.
JNPA handled 4,402,907 TEUs in H1 2026, up 13.6% from 3,874,394 TEUs a year earlier.
Strong Indian trade demand, expanded terminal capacity and rerouted Middle East-bound cargo contributed to the increase.
Colombo ranked 20th with 4,444,034 TEUs, while Mundra ranked 26th with estimated throughput of 4.1 million TEUs.
Shanghai remained first, while Dubai’s Jebel Ali fell from 10th to 32nd after its volumes declined sharply.
- Who
- Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and industry analysts and shipping representatives.
- What
- JNPA climbed from 28th to 21st globally after recording 13.6% year-on-year growth in container throughput.
- Where
- JNPA, also listed as Nhava Sheva, is in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
- When
- The ranking covers January through June 2026; the reports were published on August 27, 2026.
- Why
- The reported contributors included stronger Indian export-import demand, increased terminal capacity, improved operational efficiency and cargo rerouted from Middle East routes amid geopolitical disruptions.
Key facts
- Global rank
- 21st in H1 2026, up from 28th at the end of 2025
- H1 2026 throughput
- 4,402,907 TEUs
- Year-on-year growth
- 13.6%, compared with H1 2025
- H1 2025 throughput
- 3,874,394 TEUs
- Nearby port
- Colombo ranked 20th with 4,444,034 TEUs and 11.9% growth
- Other Indian port
- Mundra ranked 26th with estimated H1 2026 throughput of 4.1 million TEUs
- Top-ranked port
- Shanghai ranked first with 28.737 million TEUs
- Jebel Ali change
- Dubai’s Jebel Ali fell from 10th to 32nd after handling 3.14 million TEUs in H1 2026
Quotes
Sarbananda Sonowal
India’s Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways
“JNPA is now the world’s fastest-growing Container Port!”
financialexpress.com
Jagannarayan Padmanabhan
Senior Director and Global Head-Consulting at Crisil Intelligence
“Improved terminal competitiveness and operational efficiency have enabled JNP to capture more cargo, while the rerouting of some Middle East-bound cargo through Indian ports provided an additional boost in H1 2026.”
thehindubusinessline.com
Sunil Vaswani
Executive director of the Container Shipping Lines Association
“India’s exports have been growing exponentially which have been contributing to the growth in JNPA’s traffic. Besides, the increase in the transshipment cargo at JNP due to the Middle East conflict also added further to this growth.”
thehindubusinessline.com
Sources
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