The Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, visited The Energy and Resources Institute's Gwal Pahari campus in Gurugram on 3 September 2026 to review green shipping initiatives. He was briefed on the National Centre of Excellence for Green Ports and Shipping, on proposed green shipping corridors, and on the readiness of three major ports — Deendayal, Paradip and V.O. Chidambaranar — as green fuel bunkering hubs. Kamarajar Port reported that its coal terminals now have shore power.
Four technical terms in one paragraph. Each is a question in waiting, so take them in order.
Why ships are the hard case
Roads can be electrified with batteries because a car stops every few hundred kilometres. A container ship crossing an ocean cannot: the energy needed for a two-week voyage would require a battery heavier than the cargo. So shipping — which carries the great bulk of world trade by volume — has stayed on heavy fuel oil, among the dirtiest fuels in common use, and contributes a meaningful share of global emissions.
The International Maritime Organization, the UN body that regulates shipping from London, adopted in 2023 a strategy targeting net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions from international shipping by or around 2050. That timeline is why "green shipping is no longer a choice" is now a statement of regulation rather than aspiration.
The vocabulary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bunkering | Supplying fuel to a ship. A green fuel bunkering hub is a port equipped to supply low- or zero-carbon fuels |
| Shore power / cold ironing | A berthed ship draws electricity from the port grid and shuts down its engines, removing emissions at the quay |
| Green shipping corridor | A specific trade route between two or more ports on which zero-emission fuels, vessels and infrastructure are deployed together — first proposed in the Clydebank Declaration at COP26, 2021 |
| Alternative marine fuels | LNG (lower-carbon, transitional), methanol, ammonia, hydrogen — the last two carbon-free if made from renewable power |
The corridor concept is the clever part, and worth explaining. A shipowner will not buy an ammonia-fuelled vessel unless ammonia is available at both ends of the route; a port will not build ammonia bunkering unless ships come to use it. A green corridor breaks that deadlock by committing both ends and the ships between them at once, on one route, rather than waiting for the whole world to move together.
The fuels, honestly compared
Ammonia contains no carbon, so burning it releases no CO₂. It is made from hydrogen and nitrogen, and if the hydrogen is green — produced by electrolysis using renewable power — the whole chain is clean. Its drawback is that it is toxic and corrosive, which makes shipboard handling and port safety the real engineering problem.
Methanol is easier: a liquid at ambient temperature, storable in modified conventional tanks, and already used by some large container lines. It contains carbon, so it is only low-carbon if that carbon is captured or biogenic.
Hydrogen is the cleanest and the hardest to store — it must be liquefied at about −253 °C or compressed to very high pressure, and it takes far more space per unit of energy than oil.
LNG cuts sulphur and particulates sharply and CO₂ somewhat, but it is still a fossil fuel and methane slip — unburnt methane escaping — can erase its climate advantage. It is best understood as a bridge.
The Indian bet, evident from which ports were chosen, is on green hydrogen and its derivatives. The National Green Hydrogen Mission of 2023 named the same three ports — Deendayal, Paradip and V.O. Chidambaranar — as green hydrogen hubs, and today's bunkering review is that decision maturing.
The ports, placed on the map
| Port | Location | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Deendayal | Kandla, Gujarat | Gulf of Kachchh; among India's largest by cargo |
| Paradip | Odisha | East coast; a leading cargo handler |
| V.O. Chidambaranar | Thoothukudi (Tuticorin), Tamil Nadu | South-east coast |
| Kamarajar | Ennore, Tamil Nadu | India's first corporatised major port; now with shore power at coal terminals |
India has twelve major ports under the Union government, administered under the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021, with a thirteenth — Vadhavan, Maharashtra — sanctioned in 2024. All other ports are State subjects. The green-port push runs alongside the Harit Sagar Green Port Guidelines of 2023 and sits within the Maritime India Vision 2030 and the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
The institutional partner named on the day — the National Centre of Excellence for Green Ports and Shipping, hosted at TERI — is the Ministry's technical arm for exactly this transition, while the Rocky Mountain Institute, an international energy think tank, presented the corridor design work.
Why an NDA candidate should care
Two reasons beyond the exam. First, the Indian Navy will face the same fuel transition — a navy cannot indefinitely run on a fuel the merchant fleet has abandoned, because bunkering infrastructure follows commerce. Second, green fuel hubs are strategic assets: a country that can bunker ammonia or hydrogen on both coasts becomes a necessary stop on the routes of the future, which is influence of a very direct kind. Energy transition in shipping is maritime geography being redrawn, and India is trying to be on the new map.
🔑 Revision block
- 3 September 2026: Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at TERI, Gwal Pahari, Gurugram — reviewed the National Centre of Excellence for Green Ports and Shipping, green shipping corridors and port readiness.
- Green fuel bunkering hubs: Deendayal (Kandla), Paradip, V.O. Chidambaranar (Thoothukudi) — the same three named under the National Green Hydrogen Mission (2023).
- Kamarajar Port (Ennore) — shore power at coal terminals; India's first corporatised major port.
- Bunkering = fuelling a ship. Shore power / cold ironing = grid electricity at berth.
- Green shipping corridor = a defined route with zero-emission fuels, ships and infrastructure committed together; from the Clydebank Declaration, COP26, 2021.
- Fuels: ammonia (carbon-free, toxic), methanol (liquid, easier), hydrogen (cleanest, hardest to store, ~−253 °C), LNG (transitional; methane slip).
- IMO, HQ London; 2023 strategy — net-zero shipping emissions by or around 2050.
- 12 major ports under the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021; Vadhavan the 13th, sanctioned 2024; other ports are State subjects.
- Frameworks: Harit Sagar Green Port Guidelines (2023), Maritime India Vision 2030, Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
🎯 Practice MCQs
Q1. "Bunkering" in shipping refers to: (a) loading cargo (b) supplying fuel to a ship (c) dry-docking (d) ballasting → (b).
Q2. Shore power at a port allows a berthed ship to: (a) unload faster (b) draw grid electricity and shut down engines (c) desalinate water (d) recharge batteries for propulsion → (b) — also called cold ironing.
Q3. Deendayal Port is located at: (a) Mundra (b) Kandla (c) Surat (d) Okha → (b), Gujarat.
Q4. V.O. Chidambaranar Port is at: (a) Chennai (b) Ennore (c) Thoothukudi (d) Nagapattinam → (c).
Q5. Kamarajar Port is located at: (a) Kochi (b) Ennore (c) Visakhapatnam (d) Mormugao → (b) — India's first corporatised major port.
Q6. Which marine fuel contains no carbon? (a) methanol (b) LNG (c) ammonia (d) biodiesel → (c).
Q7. The International Maritime Organization is headquartered at: (a) Geneva (b) London (c) Hamburg (d) Singapore → (b).
Q8. The concept of green shipping corridors was launched through the: (a) Paris Agreement (b) Clydebank Declaration (c) Kyoto Protocol (d) Montreal Protocol → (b), at COP26 in 2021.
Q9. The number of major ports in India under Union administration, before Vadhavan, was: (a) 10 (b) 12 (c) 13 (d) 15 → (b).
Q10. "Methane slip" is a drawback associated with: (a) ammonia (b) methanol (c) LNG (d) hydrogen → (c).
Q11. The National Centre of Excellence for Green Ports and Shipping is hosted at: (a) IIT Madras (b) TERI (c) NITI Aayog (d) Cochin Shipyard → (b).
Q12. Consider the following: 1. Paradip Port is on India's east coast. 2. Deendayal Port is on the Gulf of Kachchh. (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both (d) Neither → (c).
📋 How this gets asked (PYQ pattern)
Port and shipping questions run in four shapes. The location item — a major port matched to its State or its older name, with Kandla-Deendayal and Tuticorin-V.O. Chidambaranar the usual renamings. The definition item — bunkering, shore power, or a fuel's property. The institution item — IMO's headquarters, or which Act governs the major ports. The count item — how many major ports, with the newest addition as the trap.
The fresh 2026 hook is the three bunkering hubs and Kamarajar's shore power, both suited to a which-port identification. A statement pair on bunkering and shore power definitions is the likeliest single item. As always, we describe the recurring pattern, not any exact past question.
Preparing for the NDA? Ports are a map question with a vocabulary attached — fix the twelve on the coastline and the four terms above, and the policy announcements slot in. Build the base with our notes on transport and connectivity and the NDA science hub, follow the daily NDA current affairs, and train with our ex-officer faculty in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
✍️ Written by Maj Sunil Chopra — Defence studies faculty at The Cavalier. Reviewed by the Cavalier Faculty Desk. The Cavalier, founded by ex-Army officers, has trained NDA/CDS/SSB aspirants since 2001 (Facebook · YouTube).
Source: PIB / Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, 3 September 2026. Fuel chemistry and port details cross-verified with independent sources.