Gandhinagar: Gujarat has strengthened its position as a maritime powerhouse, with total cargo traffic through non-major ports operated by the Gujarat Maritime Board reaching 487 million metric tons in 2024–25, marking an 8.56 percent increase over the previous fiscal year, Governor Acharya Devvrat said while addressing the Gujarat Legislative Assembly at the start of the Budget Session on Monday.

Quoting official figures, the Governor noted that Indian ports collectively handled around 1,593 million metric tons of cargo during the same period. Of this, Gujarat’s non-major ports alone contributed 31 percent to the national cargo traffic and accounted for nearly 66 percent of the total cargo handled at non-major ports across the country, underlining the state’s critical role in India’s maritime trade and logistics ecosystem.

Highlighting developments in ship recycling, the Governor said the world’s largest ship-recycling yard at Alang-Sosiya in Bhavnagar district continues to remain a global hub for dismantling end-of-life vessels. The yard currently has 155 plots, of which 128 are operational.

Providing historical context, he stated that since 1983, a total of 8,924 ships, weighing 71 million metric tons (LDT), have been dismantled at Alang. Addressing the recent slowdown in the ship-recycling sector, the state government has extended financial relief by offering a total rebate of ₹145 crore in plot charges to shipbreakers between 2021 and 2025, he added.

The Governor emphasized that the performance of Gujarat’s ports and the continued activity at Alang reflect the state’s sustained focus on maritime infrastructure, industrial growth, and trade competitiveness, which are expected to remain key pillars of Gujarat’s economic strategy in the coming years. DeshGujarat