An estimated 100,000 TEUs of Far East-originated cargo that has become stranded en route to the Middle East is set to land across Indian ports as ocean carriers divert from the war zone, market sources in India say.
All major long-haul liners are seeking temporary supply chain asylum at Indian docks to offload containers that departed ports in China and Southeast Asia in recent days, according to local industry sources who spoke with the Journal of Commerce.
Representatives from Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express, and Cosco Shipping are already in discussions with authorities at the Indian West Coast ports of Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Pipavav and Kandla to strike yard space deals for the storage of diverted loads, the sources said.
With a planned rerouting count of approximately 40,000 TEUs, Maersk is also considering Gangavaram Port on India’s southern East Coast as an additional discharge point, the sources added.
Maersk could not be reached for comment.
Carriers at Nhava Sheva are primarily engaging with PSA International’s flagship Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals (BMCT), which now has measurable spare cargo-handling space following the 2025 terminal expansions that doubled annual throughput capacity to 4.8 million TEUs.
BMCT has already handled a few ships diverted to Nhava Sheva to drop boxes, including Hapag-Lloyd’s 24,000-TEU Damietta Express, while terminal berthing data updated Thursday points to a lineup of nine ad-hoc calls through March 19. The terminal can stack up to 25,000 TEUs on dock, with capacity for 3,000 reefer plug-ins for refrigerated cargo, without causing major operational pressure on the quayside, sources noted.
Port and customs authorities in Nhava Sheva are collaborating to identify and allocate dedicated extra yard space off the dock in line with recent government directives to ease Middle East supply chain pain points.
Mediterranean Shipping Co. is already a significant regional transshipment player at Mundra and Vizhinjam in the south, riding on its strategic partnerships with Adani Ports, and there are no indications the carrier will stop using those ports to handle stranded cargo.
Details please refer to the JOC news.
Source: JOC