Up until December 2024 of current fiscal year, V O Chidambaranar Port in Tuticorin saw a 7% increase in volume, handling 581,557 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent) as opposed to 543,531 TEUs during the same period the year before. The port’s handling of containers has steadily increased over the past ten years, from 507,735 TEUs in 2013–14 to 747,363 TEUs in 2023–24, demonstrating its dedication to capacity expansion and operating efficiency. Additionally, in the fiscal years 2022–2023 and 2023–2024, the port was the fastest in the nation for container turnaround times. The terminals provide 30 container movements per hour, which is comparable to international norms.
With an outstanding average container turnaround time of 19.92 hours till December 2024 in the current fiscal year, VOC Port has continued to hold its top spot among major ports. The container terminals at V O Chidambaranar Port, Tuticorin International Container Terminal, Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminals, and PSA SICAL Container Terminal collectively handle 1.6 million TEUs annually, meeting the increasing demand. Two inland container depots and fifteen nearby container freight stations complement the port, guaranteeing efficient container movement to and from the port.
The port’s terminals run eight weekly sailings to Colombo. In order to improve its connectivity for international trade, the port also provides sailings to Mundra, Pipavav, Cochin, Jebal Ali, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, China, and Far Eastern nations. In order to accommodate the container traffic’s exponential development, the port has suggested building an outside harbor. It would feature two terminals that could handle four million TEUs of container traffic, each with a quay length of one kilometer and a draft of 16.5 meters. Following its flotation, the tender received a positive response.
