News / Fatal accident dockside shuts operations at JNPA box terminal

Photo: @JNPA

Operations at Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal  in India’s JNPA harbour halted this morning following an accident that left one docker dead and two others seriously injured.

The terminal is likely to stay closed until tomorrow morning, according to updates from port sources.

The 3am incident happened as dockers were working alongside ONE-operated Dalian.

“During a sludge removal operation, four containers reportedly toppled from the vessel onto the sludge tank, allegedly due to strong winds prevailing in the area,” sources reported, based on preliminary information from the terminal.

Strong monsoon storms along the Mumbai coast have been impacting operations in JNPA for the last few days.

Local police launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, sources said.

A terminal source told The Loadstar: “We are fully supporting the authorities with their procedural matters and investigation,”  declining to comment further.

The 4,500-teu Dalian is reportedly deployed on ONE’s MIAX service connecting India, the Middle East and Africa, with Hapag-Lloyd as a slot partner on the weekly loop.

NSFT is a 50:50 joint-venture between CMA Terminals and India’s JM Baxi Ports & Logistics, which won 30-year concession rights in 2022, involving the modernisation of JNPA’s oldest terminal, and opened the upgraded terminal to operations in early 2023.

Equipped with a 680-metre berth length, NSFT offers a capacity of 1.5m teu annually.

French liner CMA CGM has steadily consolidated its services for operational flexibility. As a result, NSFT has more than doubled throughput in Q1 of fiscal year 2026-27 year on year.  The terminal handled some 337,500 teu out of 131 containership calls, up from 148,500 teu out of 95 ship visits, according to port data.

JNPA has seen combined volumes grow at a stronger pace in recent months, with Q1 box traffic up about 15% year on year, to 2.25m teu, data shows.

That momentum is expected to accelerate with the port gaining more sophisticated intermodal rail connectivity to the hinterlands via double-stack container trains along the long-awaited dedicated freight corridor link.

A 190-teu rail car operation to Garhi Harsaru Inland Container Depot, in Haryana State, on 20 June marked the game-changing experience for cargo owners and ocean carriers using JNPA.

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