Iran war & the monsoon: Why Salaya port is critical to Gujarat’s dhow trade

Al Umar. (Express photo)

That tough decision was made easy for the owners and crew after the government tweaked an immigration rule, which went into effect the day before the ship reached Gujarat.

From May 21, mechanised sailing vessels (MSVs) whose home ports are Salaya and Okha (in Devbhoomi Dwarka district) have been permitted to complete crew sign on/ off at the seaport Immigration Check Post (ICP) at Porbandar.

People aboard a ship must clear customs and immigration at a designated ICP managed by the Bureau of Immigration under the Union Home Ministry using India’s Immigration Control System (ICS). A similar system exists at airports and international land border crossings.

“The launch (boat) had to go in for repairs in any case, so we had directed it to Dubai. But the crew felt unsafe about the Iran-US situation, and so we called it back home to Salaya. By chance, the immigration processes had just started at Porbandar, otherwise, we would have had to work out something else,” Shabbir Sumbhania, the nephew of the owner of the ship, told The Indian Express.

War and monsoon: Why boats needed to find a safe harbour urgently

Since the war began in the Middle East, at least one MSV from Gujarat has been reported sunk after being hit by a projectile, and a member of the crew of another vessel has been killed in cross-firing.

As the small merchant vessels scrambled to return to Gujarat, they had to contend with the fact that in several cases, their home ports were not notified for immigration. But from May 21, when Porbandar was temporarily designated an ICP for Salaya, to May 27, at least 15 MSVs, including MSV Al Umar, had been processed at Porbandar.

Map.

Another 12 MSVs were en route, industry sources said, and around 100 vessels in all were expected to reach Salaya after passing through immigration at Porbandar over the next month.

The temporary designation from which the Al Umar benefited, isn’t without precedent, though. In May 2025, MSVs were allowed to berth at the non-notified ports of Vadinar and Sikka in the Gulf of Kutch after their crew completed the immigration process at Bedi port in Jamnagar, which has an ICP office.

Thereafter, the Indian Sailing Vessels Association (ISVA) asked for similar provisions at Porbandar for MSVs headed for Salaya, Okha, and Veraval ports. In letters written to the Directorate General of Shipping, India’s apex maritime authority, the ISVA pointed out that of the nine “traditional home ports” of Indian Sailing Vessels (ISVs) in Gujarat, only four – Mandvi, Mundra, Bedi, and Porbandar – have notified ICPs, while the other five – Sikka, Vadinar, Salaya, Okha, and Veraval – do not.

ISVA general secretary Adam Bhaya said the temporary relief of May 21 was “the need of the hour”, since “it will take time for the Government of India to notify these [five] sea ports [for immigration]”.

“Given that two MSVs had already been attacked in Gulf waters, and the sailing season officially ends on May 31 according to the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, it was critical that MSVs could come back to their home ports of Salaya and Okha and beach in the protected harbour,” he said.

Mangroves, creeks, and repair facilities: Why Salaya matters

Salaya was needed particularly because there is almost no space left at the ports of Porbandar, Okha, Sikka or Mundra, Bhaya said.

“These ports can accommodate at best 15-20 vessels. Also, Porbandar and Okha are hazardous (exposed) ports. Salaya is a tidal port, with creeks and mangroves (which shelter vessels from the open sea and absorb wave energy), where 100-200 boats can be beached for the monsoon. Vessels from Porbandar, Veraval, Mandvi, and other ports too come here. The cost of repairs too is lower in Salaya,” he said.

Mangroves at Salaya.

During the June 1-September 30 “beaching season”, when MSVs are not allowed to venture into the sea, the boats are inspected and seaworthiness certificates are issued. According to stakeholders, Salaya is among the best ports for painting, cleaning, and repairing boats in dry dock.

The temporary approval followed intervention in the matter by Jamnagar MP Poonam Maadam, Bhaya said.

“We approached the MP for help. Thanks to her intervention, an order came from the FRRO (Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office) that has now allowed sign on/ sign off at the Porbandar port ICP of crews whose MSVs are berthed or beached at Salaya and Okha,” he said.

The chokepoint for Gujarat’s MSVs: A new law and restrictions

For a decade from 2015 onward, immigration clearance for Veraval, Salaya and Okha – ports that were neither notified ICPs nor had any online processing infrastructure – was given offline through Immigration Sub-Check Posts at various Marine Police Stations.

This practice changed after the Immigration and Foreigners’ Act, 2025 – which consolidated four older laws into a single framework with stricter monitoring and tougher penalties – came into force in September 2025.

“The sign-on and sign-off processes for MSVs at non-notified ports was stopped with immediate effect. Only notified ports with ICPs were able to carry out immigration procedures,” Bhaya said.

While ISVA had sought immigration services for Salaya, Okha, and Veraval, approval was granted only for the first two ports. Veraval, Bhaya said, is “more of a ship building port than a transport and logistics hub”, and the non-approval does not impact the industry significantly.

Other scenario: What if Porbandar ICP had not been approved?

What would have happened to MSVs like Al Umar if the temporary immigration facility at Porbandar had not been opened?

The boats would have had to be docked at other, crowded ports where they might have been put at considerable risk of damage from rough seas, officials said.

“If the Porbandar ICP hadn’t been approved for Salaya and Okha, these MSVs would have had to go to one of the notified ports such as Kandla or Mundra,” an immigration official told The Indian Express. “The crew would sign off, and the vessel would have to be docked there for the rest of the season. But these ports don’t have the space for so many dhows. Unlike Salaya, many ports are also hazardous, and in inclement weather, the vessels can be pulled off their moorings. If they crash against the shoreline, massive damage can be caused to the boats,” the official said.

Bhaya said the ISVA’s plan B would have been to apply for a change in the classification of the vessels with the hope that they could then gain entry into Salaya.

“We had to look for another way out in case no temporary measures were made available. We had decided that in this scenario, we would apply to reclassify these ‘foreign-going vessels’ as ‘coastal-sailing vessels’. Sikka is a two-way hazardous port, with power plants and gas lines on one side and the open sea on the other which leaves vessels vulnerable to rough weather. We would pay customs duty on bunker fuel and ask to sail from one Indian port (Sikka) to another (Salaya),” Bhaya said.

“When the ‘fair seas’ season began from September 1, these vessels would have sailed to any major loading port like Mundra or Porbandar as a coastal vessel, apply for a conversion to a foreign-going vessel, and then pick up goods and sail out,” Bhaya said.

Every year, some 80-85% of vessels come back to their home ports in Gujarat during the rough season. The option of docking the MSV at a foreign port and flying the crew back home for the off season was available, but expensive, Bhaya said. “The costs are affordable only for perhaps 20% of owners who have multiple vessels,” he said.

The Sumbhania family’s second vessel, the 900-tonne MSV Mehboob-e-Bukhari, for example, is now in the UAE, where it will remain during the rough season.

“Over the next two months, it will be dry-docked for repairs. The crew will be flown back to India and a fresh set of crew will be flown there when the vessel is ready to sail again in September,” Shabbir Sumbhania said.

Vessels and trade: Nature of coastal commerce to and from Gujarat

The majority of MSVs in India are based in Gujarat, Karnataka, and Kerala on the western seaboard and Tamil Nadu in the east, apart from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

These vessels ply to the UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman in the Middle East, to Sri Lanka and Maldives in the Indian Ocean, and to some countries on the east coast of Africa.

There are about 450-500 vessels of this type that fly the Indian flag, ISVA officials said. Around 300 foreign-flagged MSVs are also engaged in trade with India.

About 275 of the Indian flagged MSVs are based in Gujarat. Salaya is the home port for 175 of these MSVs, and Mandvi is the home port for 60. The rest of the vessels are distributed among the other seven ports in the state. Some of these MSVs also belong to merchants who are based in Mumbai.

The MSVs run on diesel, and can have a carrying capacity of between 200 metric tonnes (MT) and 3,000 MT. But the largest number of these vessels have a capacity of about 1,000 MT, Bhaya said.

The total tonnage of Indian-flagged MSVs is estimated to be more than 4,00,000 MT. Each vessel costs Rs 50 lakh on average. The bulk of the cargo that Indian MSVs ferry comprises soyabean, rice, sugar, dry and wet dates, onions, foodstuffs and livestock such as sheep and goats.

The trade is export-oriented – together, the MSV fleet carries about 5 lakh tonnes of exports and 50,000 tonnes of imports annually on average, ISVA officials said.