Maritime Trail: How Mother Vessels Could Redraw India’s Trade Routes

The Indian traders are still dependent on global transshipment hubs due to constraints in major Indian ports to dock mother vessels. 

Until now, spice export orders to various parts of the globe were loaded onto feeder vessels and dispatched to transit countries, including Colombo. This detour to global transshipment hubs could be avoided to a certain extent if the country had the provisions to anchor mother vessels on a larger scale — something that gives other countries an edge in global trade.

Logistics Cost

Transshipment charges vary substantially depending on the hub. At the Colombo port, transshipment charges for a single day range between $20,000-$25,000.

According to the Spices Board, the country witnessed an increase of 17% (in volume) in the export of spices in 2024-25. A total of 17.99 lakh tonnes of spices and spice products were exported from India during this period, against 15.40 lakh tonnes in 2023-24. As per data, spice exports stood at 282,000 shipments in 2023-24, undertaken by over 6,600 exporters.

The Vizhinjam Bet

In 2024, the arrival of the mother vessel (large container ships) MV San Fernando at Vizhinjam Port, India's first transhipment hub, grabbed headlines. The maiden call of the world's largest container ship at the international seaport also created buzz. 

Are other major ports capable of anchoring such mother vessels, and that too at regular intervals?

Mother Vessel/Feeder Vessel

Mother vessels are extremely large container ships that can be docked only at major, deep-water ports under specific conditions. They are capable of carrying thousands of containers, and serve only between major ports. A mother vessel carries thousands of containers, with an average capacity of more than 10,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). Feeder vessels, on the other hand, have a capacity ranging between 300 TEUs and up to 1,000 TEUs. They are smaller in size, and used primarily as a "transit tool" in the global shipping network: the cargo is collected from the source in feeder vessels and transported to a major transhipment hub.

The available water depth (draft) at a port is the primary factor that determines its ability to dock massive vessels. The Cochin Port, for instance, has an average draft depth of 14.5 metres, while the Vizhinjam Port, in contrast, offers a deep draft of about 25 metres. 

"The draft at a port should be deep enough to anchor mother vessels," K. Srinivasan, Senior Deputy Director, Planning & Research, Chennai Ports, told The Secretariat. 

Transshipment Quandary

According to a report by the Indian Ports Association, 75% of the country's transshipment cargo is handled at international ports. This makes homegrown industries and traders vulnerable to logistics costs, besides becoming incompetent in the global market in the long term. Though the Vizhinjam port comes as a saving grace, much still needs to be done to recalibrate ports to match global competency. 

Indian exporters, especially spice traders, extensively rely on feeder vessels to export their products to overseas markets. Feeder vessels act as the intermediary shipment platform between the exporting country and the global transhipment hub. 

"The major ports have occasionally anchored mother vessels," says R. Santhanam, president, Indian Major Ports & Dock Officers' Association. "The frequency in anchoring mother vessels gains significance amid the transition from older port trusts to autonomous port authorities [under the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021], which gives the ports greater autonomy," he says, highlighting that this is accentuated by the Indian Ports Act, 2025, which paves the way for global competitiveness by boosting trade.  

Insufficient Draft

Insufficient water depth (draft) has been deterring massive mother vessels from being anchored in major Indian ports, forcing the cargo to be transshipped through other countries. "In case of specific products, dedicated terminals are required for their handling," Srinivasan says, referring to the proposal for an ambitious project to establish a 2-km outer harbour mega terminal at the Chennai Ports. "With such a mega terminal and deep drafts, ports would be able to handle mother vessels more frequently," he adds. 

According to the report earlier mentioned, the country requires "mega ports" to dock massive vessels, and 16-metres deep drafts would also become essential, as 40% of the future fleet order book comprises ships of 20,000 TEU capacity or more. 

As per the report, Indian ports lose up to $200-$220 million of potential revenue each year due to shortcomings in the transhipment handling of cargo.

"Cutting out transhipment and, instead, directly shipping cargo to the destination countries would not only reduce logistics cost but also boost trade," says Jose Mathew, MD, Bioingredia Natural Pvt. Ltd. "Spice exports form a major portion of shipment. If the logistics issue is addressed, it could even further enhance trade," he says. 

Rolling The Spice Dice

Amid a dip in production due to erratic weather conditions and plant diseases, spice exporters feel that a dedicated deep-water transshipment hub will give a fillip to exports, as it would no longer be dependent on transhipment ports of other countries.

Since antiquity, the maritime spice trail has outlined the boundaries of global trade — well before even the silk route was established. Today, the global spice trade continues to define international markets, with India proactively imposing its edge on exports. Upping the ante by a notch in port development could very well boost maritime trade in the coming years.