The Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra has successfully reduced stranded containers to half, even as global shipping dynamics remain affected by the ongoing West Asia war. The progress follows a review and consultation meeting chaired by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday, which brought together key stakeholders, including shipping lines, terminal operators, and trade bodies to discuss continuity, resilience, and strategic adaptation in maritime operations.

Over the past 20 days, about 16,000 TEUs were dispatched from the port to destinations in the Middle East, while around 1,700 TEUs returned to local terminals. The number of vessels at anchorage has been reduced from nine to four, while the port is currently operating at around 50 per cent of its container storage capacity, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) said in an official release.

“During this period, the number of vessels at anchorage has significantly reduced from nine to four, indicating improved vessel clearance and operational efficiency. As of March 18, there are approximately 25,000 TEUs of transshipment containers unloaded for temporary storage at the port. The number of stranded containers at JNPA has come down from around 5,000 TEUs on March 1 to nearly 2,500 TEUs of export containers, while perishable/reefer cargo has reduced from 2,000 TEUs to around 800 TEUs as of March 16,” JNPA added