Jawaharlal Nehru Port Emerges as Fastest-Growing Among Top Global Ports in H1 2026

Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) in Mumbai has emerged as the fastest-growing container port among the world's top 30 ports during the first half of 2026. According to global port rankings released by France-based Alphaliner, the country's largest container terminal saw its throughput rise 14 percent year-on-year.

During the January-June 2026 period, JNP handled 4.40 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), compared with 3.87 million TEUs in the corresponding period last year. This performance enabled the port to climb to the 21st position in the global ranking from 28th at the end of 2025. It is now close behind Sri Lanka's Colombo port, which handled 4.44 million TEUs in H1 2026 to rank 20th globally, narrowing the gap between the two ports to about 41,000 TEUs. Mundra in Gujarat was the only other Indian port to feature in the list, securing the 26th rank.

China continues to dominate the global sector, maintaining six of its ports in the top ten. Globally, Shanghai retained the top position with 28.74 million TEUs in H1 2026, followed by Ningbo-Zhoushan with 22.90 million TEUs and Singapore with 22.74 million TEUs.

Industry experts and port officials attributed JNP's growth to a combination of strong Indian export-import demand, increased terminal capacity—particularly at BMCT and NSFT—and improved operational efficiency. Additionally, geopolitical disruptions played a significant role. Renewed disruptions in the Hormuz Strait led to a near shutdown of the waterway from March onwards, resulting in cargo diversion from West Asia to Indian ports. While cargo from origins such as China, Europe, and Asia previously went directly to Jebel Ali, much of it was rerouted to Nhava Sheva and subsequently moved to east coast ports of the Strait of Hormuz in small batches.

The disruption heavily impacted Dubai's Jebel Ali port, where volumes plummeted over 90 percent in the second quarter to 374,000 TEUs. Combined with a Q1 decline of 23 percent, Jebel Ali handled 3.14 million TEUs in the first six months of the year—less than half of what it recorded a year earlier—causing the port to fall out of the top 30 from 10th place to 32nd.

Gaurav Dayal, Chairperson of JNPA, stated that the collaborative performance of the port's terminal operators, stakeholders, and the wider port community reflected in JNP's rise in the global rankings. Sunil Vaswani, Executive Director of the Container Shipping Lines Association, noted that exponential growth in India's exports and increased transshipment cargo resulting from the Middle East conflict contributed further to this traffic growth.

"The performance of Jawaharlal Nehru Port highlights how geopolitical shifts and regional infrastructure readiness can directly impact international trade routes. By efficiently absorbing rerouted cargo during the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz alongside robust domestic export-import demand, JNP has strengthened India's standing in global maritime logistics. This upward movement in global rankings demonstrates the growing competitiveness and operational capacity of Indian port terminals." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes