By Sangeetha G
Copyright deccanchronicle
Chennai: India saw the highest increase in port liner shipping connectivity between June 2024 and June 2025 with a 18 per cent growth rate due to surge in maximum vessel size and increased deployed capacity, finds the UN Trade and Development body. India’s Port Community System (PCS) also reduced ship turnaround time at major ports by 49 per cent from 94 hours in FY14 to 48.06 hours in FY24.As of June 2025, 7 of the top 10 most connected countries, as measured by the LSCI, were in Asia. In order of connectivity, the top four were China, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. The remaining six were the United States, Vietnam, Spain, Japan, India and the United Kingdom. From June 2024 to June 2025, India recorded the biggest increase in LSCI scores at an impressive 18 per cent. This was mainly driven by a surge in the maximum vessel size, which reached over 24,000 TEUs in the Mundra, Nhava Sheva and Vizhinjam ports, and an increase in deployed capacity. Further, India’s PCS reduced ship turnaround time at major ports from 94 hours by 49 per cent in FY14 to 48.06 hours in FY24. Container dwell time dropped to 2.6 days in 2023, ship berth-day output improved by 52 per cent, and cargo handling capacity increased by 87 per cent in fiscal year 2023–2024 over 2014–2015. Moreover, the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, adopted in 2009, entered into force on 26 June 2025, and this will be of immense significance for India as it is an important player in the ship recycling business. The convention provides the basis for a significant improvement in health, safety and working conditions as well as the environmental sustainability of global ship recycling practices. The Convention currently has 24 contracting states, including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Türkiye, which together dominate the ship recycling industry, accounting for approximately 90 per cent of global ship recycling volume.
