Cyclone Biparjoy suspends operations at Gujarat ports
Cyclone Biparjoy suspends operations at Gujarat ports. The disruption ran from 2023-06-12 (12 June 2023) to 2023-06-17 (17 June 2023), 6 days, affecting Mundra, Kandla. Kandla averaged 1.5 calls per day during the event window against an expected 5.7 (-73.5%). Mundra averaged 0.7 calls per day during the event window against an expected 7.7 (-91.3%). Mundra averaged 1.2 calls per day during the event window against an expected 10.4 (-88.8%).
Key facts
- Started
- 2023-06-12 (12 June 2023)
- Ended
- 2023-06-17 (17 June 2023)
- Status
- ended
- Type
- Weather stoppage
- Severity
- 2 Moderate
- Scope
- regional
- Chokepoints
- None
- Lanes
- None
- Countries
- India
- Confidence
- medium: The suspension date and Kandla and Pipavav's 2023-06-17 resumption rest on a Reuters wire report and trade press, consistent with each other, but no dated statement from Deendayal Port Authority or Adani Ports could be retrieved directly, and no source confirms exactly when the first vessel berthed at Mundra, only that it was due to restart that evening.
- First reported
- 2023-06-14 (14 June 2023)
- Severity basis: Port wide stoppages of 24 hours to seven days; cargo handling at Mundra and at Deendayal Port, Kandla, was suspended from 2023-06-12 until 2023-06-17.
What happened
Cyclone Biparjoy suspended cargo handling at ports along the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, India, from 2023-06-12 (12 June 2023), ahead of a landfall near Jakhau on 2023-06-15 (15 June 2023). Mundra, India's largest container port, stopped work on 2023-06-12, and Deendayal Port at Kandla suspended all cargo operations and told inbound ships to stay in open water rather than approach the Gulf of Kutch. Kandla and the nearby Pipavav Port had resumed operations by 2023-06-17, and Mundra was due to restart that evening. Berthing schedules and landside container flows at Mundra stayed disrupted afterwards, and trade bodies expected recovery within about a week.
Measured effect
Port calls, Mundra
- Baseline (expected)
- 10.4 calls per day
- Observed
- 1.2 calls per day
- Change
- -9.3 (-88.8%)
- Standardised score
- -2.9
- Event window
- 2023-06-12 to 2023-06-17 (6 days)
- Baseline window
- 2023-04-10 to 2023-06-04 (56 valid days)
- Method
- wfm-effect-1.0
- Computed
- 2026-09-24 (24 September 2026), data revision 1:fca6a20ba06e
Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.
This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.
Port calls, Kandla
- Baseline (expected)
- 5.7 calls per day
- Observed
- 1.5 calls per day
- Change
- -4.2 (-73.5%)
- Standardised score
- -1.7
- Event window
- 2023-06-12 to 2023-06-17 (6 days)
- Baseline window
- 2023-04-10 to 2023-06-04 (56 valid days)
- Method
- wfm-effect-1.0
- Computed
- 2026-09-24 (24 September 2026), data revision 1:eea3c0fa5049
Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.
This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.
Container ship port calls, Mundra
- Baseline (expected)
- 7.7 calls per day
- Observed
- 0.7 calls per day
- Change
- -7.0 (-91.3%)
- Standardised score
- -2.5
- Event window
- 2023-06-12 to 2023-06-17 (6 days)
- Baseline window
- 2023-04-10 to 2023-06-04 (56 valid days)
- Method
- wfm-effect-1.0
- Computed
- 2026-09-24 (24 September 2026), data revision 1:c2ae781a8bd2
Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.
This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.
Timeline
- Ports along the Gulf of Kutch, including Mundra and Kandla, halt cargo operations as Cyclone Biparjoy approaches the Gujarat coast. [s4]
- Deendayal Port Authority confirms all cargo operations at Kandla are stopped and says ships bound for the port have been told to remain in open water rather than wait near the entrance to the Gulf of Kutch. [s1]
- The cyclone makes landfall near Jakhau Port on the Gujarat coast. [s5]
- Kandla and Pipavav Port report they have resumed operations, and the Adani-owned Mundra Port is due to restart from that evening. [s2]
- Missed berthing windows and yard congestion at Mundra continue after the restart, with one carrier omitting the port on a voyage and trade bodies expecting flows to normalise within about eight days. [s3]
Cause
Port authorities and terminal operators suspended cargo handling as a precaution before the cyclone reached the Gujarat coast, moving ships out of the Gulf of Kutch and stopping quayside work until damage could be assessed. Attributed by: Deendayal Port Authority and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, as reported. [s1]
Resolution
Corrections
No corrections to this record as of 2026-09-24 (24 September 2026).
Sources
- [s1] Maritime Gateway, Deendayal Port shuts operations as cyclone nears, published 2023-06-14 (14 June 2023), accessed 2026-09-16. Archived copy. (press)
- [s2] Malay Mail (Reuters), Coastal areas of India's Gujarat state return to normalcy after cyclone, published 2023-06-17 (17 June 2023), accessed 2026-09-23. Archived copy. (press)
- [s3] Logistics Insider, Disruptions and delays mount at Mundra Port following Cyclone Biparjoy, published 2023-06-23 (23 June 2023), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (press)
- [s4] The Loadstar, Cyclone shutters already congested ports on India's busy west coast, published 2023-06-13 (13 June 2023), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (press)
- [s5] The Tribune (PTI), Cyclone Biparjoy starts making landfall near Jakhau port in Gujarat's Kutch, published 2023-06-15 (15 June 2023), accessed 2026-09-23. Archived copy. (press)