Sarjak Container Lines: Mundra empty container policy disrupts exports as transporters halt movements

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MUMBAI, September 2, 2026: Container movements through India’s Mundra Port are facing mounting disruption after a new empty container policy prompted depot operators to suspend services and around 1,500 transporters to halt container movements.

The disruption follows a decision by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) to freeze empty yard codes outside the Mundra port and SEZ limits from September 1. Shipping lines must instead nominate empty containers to designated facilities within the port area.

APSEZ has said the change is intended to address misuse of empty depot codes, improve security, reduce road congestion and improve vehicle turnaround.

The Mundra Customs Brokers’ Association estimates that around 5,000 containers a day are being affected. The Kandla Mundra Container Transport Welfare Association has also joined the stoppage, adding pressure to container flows at the gateway.

The disruption is affecting both empty container returns and the release of equipment for factory stuffed exports.

CMA CGM said empty container releases for factory stuffing and empty gate ins at affected yards were temporarily unavailable, although Container Freight Station stuffing and gate in operations remained available. Hapag Lloyd has issued similar guidance.

For exporters, the impact can occur well before a laden container reaches the terminal. Without an empty box, a factory cannot stuff its cargo and meet the vessel cut off.

Supal Shah, CEO of Sarjak Container Lines, said the issue was less about the rationale for reviewing empty container operations than whether replacement capacity was ready.

“There are valid reasons to review how empty containers are handled at Mundra. The problem is the way the change has been introduced,” Shah said. “When an established process is used every day by exporters, shipping lines, transporters and depots, the replacement arrangements need to be ready before the existing ones are withdrawn.”

The designated facilities inside Mundra will potentially have to absorb volumes previously distributed among independent depots.

Empty container operations involve more than storage. Equipment can require inspection, washing, repair, inventory management and release before being dispatched to customers.

Shah said additional capacity needed to be demonstrated before the change was fully implemented.

“If a larger share of empty containers is going to be handled through fewer locations, those locations need to be able to deal with the additional volume on a normal day and during periods of disruption,” he said.

The Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India has sought intervention from the Directorate General of Shipping, citing risks including stranded vehicles, missed vessel cut offs, shipment rollovers and additional detention, handling and transportation costs.

APSEZ has referred to Dubai’s Jebel Ali model when discussing its Mundra strategy, but recent developments in the UAE also illustrate the role that inland capacity can play.

DP World recently opened a 100,000 square metre inland empty container depot at Al Awir, outside Jebel Ali Port. The facility provides empty container storage and release capacity as well as inspection, condition reporting and shipping line inventory management.

“The Dubai example is useful, but the lesson is broader than simply moving empty containers into a port,” Shah said. “The industry needs enough capacity and enough choice in the locations from which equipment can be released and returned to keep cargo moving when operating conditions change.”

For Mundra’s exporters, the immediate issue remains access to equipment.

“The immediate priority should be to get containers moving again,” Shah said. “Exporters should not have to absorb additional costs or miss vessel cut offs while the industry works through a change in depot arrangements.”