Container tracking for small Indian freight forwarders: what to watch and what to skip
India's biggest container gateway handled 8.17 million TEUs in FY2025-26. A practical guide for small Indian forwarders on what to track, which data is public, and the limits.
India's container volumes keep growing. JNPA, the country's largest container gateway by capacity, handled 8.17 million TEUs in FY2025-26, up 11.94% from 7.30 million in FY2024-25 (India Seatrade News). Across all major ports, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways reported 915.17 million tonnes of cargo in the same year (PIB).
Data table
| FY2024-25 | 7.3 M TEU |
| FY2025-26 | 8.17 M TEU |
More volume means more shipments for a small forwarder, and more chances for one to slip. Here is a practical way to think about tracking.
What is worth tracking
- Vessel ETA to your discharge port. The date the customer was promised against.
- Cutoffs and free time. The dates that cost money when missed.
- Handover points. Rail or trucking slots that depend on the arrival date.
What public data can and cannot tell you
Some ports publish open port-call and vessel data. Others do not, or only through commercial feeds. That means coverage is uneven, and a tool that says it tracks everything in India live is promising more than open data can deliver. Berthbell does not claim live tracking at Indian ports. It works from your shipment list and the dates you hold.
A simple setup for a desk of two or three people
- Keep one list with booking, vessel, ETA, customer promise, cutoff and last free day.
- Review only the late and at-risk lines each morning.
- Message the customer on any change before they ask.
The Berthbell demo shows this flow on sample data.
Sources
- India Seatrade News, JNPA Achieves Record Cargo and Container Throughput in FY26 (2 April 2026).
- Press Information Bureau, Major Ports cargo, FY 2025-26 (5 April 2026).
Questions
How many containers did JNPA handle in FY2025-26?
8.17 million TEUs, up 11.94% from 7.30 million the year before, per India Seatrade News.
Does Berthbell track containers live at Indian ports?
No. It does not claim live tracking at Indian ports. It works from your shipment list and the public data that exists.