Chennai port and ships, live
Chennai (Madras) handles cargo: the World Port Index lists container berths, ramps for roll-on, roll-off ships, dry bulk berths, liquid bulk berths and general cargo berths.
Right now · as of
6 ships on the map within 10 km of Chennai (Madras), 3 under way.
Cargo 4, Tankers 1 and Tugs / Service 1
The harbour
The Index rates Chennai (Madras) a large coastal harbour behind breakwaters. It lists container berths, ramps for roll-on, roll-off ships, dry bulk berths, liquid bulk berths, general cargo berths, yards for major repairs and a dry dock there. It takes ships up to 336.7 m long, through a channel at least 18.6 m deep.
Harbours within 10 km
- Chennai (Madras)3 km from the centreLarge harbour
What the live map can see
In 24 hours of AIS recorded Oct 12 – 19, the map heard only 26 ships within 10 km of Chennai (Madras): reception here is patchy, so most ships won’t show.
Good to know
- NGA’s World Port Index rates a harbour by its area, facilities and wharf space when it was last surveyed, not by its traffic, so a busy terminal can be rated small. Where it doesn’t know about a facility it says so, and only what it marks as there is listed here.
- AIS is heard by receivers on shore, so coverage follows where they are: ships far out at sea, or off coasts without one, don’t show. Warships and some others switch it off, and a ship’s type and destination are typed in by its crew.
- Harbours from NGA’s World Port Index (Pub. 150), downloaded on Oct 19, 2026. The major ports and chokepoints are the map’s own reference list.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Live ship tracker, Shipping chokepoints