The Chennai Port handled 55.71 million tonnes of cargo during 2011-12. This was a decline of 9.63 per cent compared with the previous year due to stoppage of iron ore and coal handling.
Despite losing iron ore and coal, the port has not incurred a heavy financial loss. The port generated an operating income of Rs 620 crore with an operating surplus of Rs 36 crore. The net surplus for the years is Rs 6 crore.
Container traffic registered a 2.22 per cent increase to 1.55 million twenty foot equivalent units. Next to JNPT, Chennai is the second largest container handling port in the country, says a Chennai Port Trust press release.