Ministry Notifies Indian Ports Rules, 2026

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has notified the Indian Ports Rules, 2026 (the Rules), which came into force on July 21, 2026. The Rules have been framed under sections 76 and 78 of the Indian Ports Act, 2025 and prescribe the manner in which various provisions of the Act are to be implemented. The Rules apply in their entirety to all major ports and to notified navigable rivers or channels leading to ports (Rule 2(a)). In the case of ports other than major ports, only specified provisions apply — Rules 12 to 23, Rule 25, Rules 26 to 29 and Rule 30 (Rule 2(b)). 

Salient Features of the Rules

Administrative Framework (Rules 1–11)

The initial part of the Rules deals primarily with the administrative framework for implementation of the Act. Besides prescribing their commencement and applicability, Rule 3 defines expressions used across the framework, including “advance waste notice”, “pollution incident”, “plan”, “maritime single window”, “owner of obstruction”, “shore-based welfare services” and “waste delivery receipt”.

They also provide for the appointment of officers and employees to the Maritime State Development Council (Rule 4), the appointment of other port officers and their pay and conditions of service (Rules 5 to 8), delegation of powers by the conservator with the approval of the Government (Rule 9) and the appointment of a health officer for every major port (Rule 10). The Rules further prescribe the manner in which receipts for fees and other charges under section 48 of the Act are to be issued in the format specified in Schedule I and require that all receipts be retained for a minimum of seven years from the date of issuance (Rule 11). 

Framework for Port Reception Facilities and Ship-generated Waste (Rules 12–20)

A substantial part of the Rules talk about the management of ship-generated waste and pollution prevention. Every port is required to establish, operate and maintain adequate port reception facilities capable of receiving ship-generated waste without causing undue delay to ships. The Rules prescribe the categories of waste to be received, by reference to Annexes I, II, IV, V and VI to the MARPOL Convention, the technical and operational standards applicable to such facilities (Schedule II) and the manner in which waste is to be handled. 

The Rules also require ports to prepare a Port Waste Reception and Handling Plan under section 38 of the Act, in consultation with stakeholders including agents and subject to approval by the Board, identifying the reception facilities available, waste handling procedures, charging systems, consultation mechanisms with port users and other operational arrangements. Under Rule 14, the Plan may be reviewed every two years by the Authority, and is required to be made available to port users, preferably by electronic means. Both positions departed from the draft Rules published on January 23, 2026, under which the Plan was understood to require approval by the Central Government and a mandatory two-yearly review. 

In addition, every vessel intending to call at a port must submit an advance waste notice under section 39 of the Act at least twenty-four hours before arrival, irrespective of whether it has any waste to discharge (Rule 16), while the master must ensure that all vessel-generated waste that cannot lawfully be discharged at sea is delivered to a port reception facility before departure, unless the port grants an exemption on the conditions specified in Schedule III (Rule 17). Every port reception facility is required to issue a waste delivery receipt within one hour of completion of waste discharge, failing which the delay and the reasons for it must be recorded in writing, and to maintain records of all such receipts (Rule 18).

The framework also provides for audits of port reception facilities at least once every two years, conducted by an auditor authorised by the Directorate General of Maritime Administration, with corrective action ordinarily to be completed within ninety days and audit records retained for at least seven years (Rule 19). Pollution incidents within port limits must be reported to the Government on a tiered timeline, an initial verbal report by the master within fifteen minutes of detection, a Coastal Pollution Incident Report in Form-II submitted by the port within two hours, and a detailed supplementary report within twenty-four hours (Rule 20). 

Operational and Miscellaneous Matters (Rules 21–30)

The remaining provisions prescribe procedures relating to notification of navigable rivers or channels leading to ports (Rule 21), declaration of new ports and alteration of port limits (Rule 22), removal or alteration of obstructions and determination of compensation to the owner (Rule 23), recovery of expenses for loss, destruction or damage caused to port property (Rule 24), reporting of vessel arrivals through the Maritime Single Window (Rule 25), appointment of a person to impose penalties where the conservator is a body of persons (Rule 26) and reporting of incidents to the Directorate General of Maritime Administration within twenty-four hours (Rule 27). Rules 28 to 30 additionally require ports to provide shore-based welfare services to seafarers on a non-discriminatory basis, in line with Regulation 4.4 of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 and the guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Maritime Administration (Rule 28), to facilitate access to consular and fair treatment mechanisms (Rule 29), and to comply with applicable international conventions under section 72 of the Act (Rule 30). The Rules also prescribe the forms (Forms I to V) and procedural requirements applicable to these matters. 

Conclusion

The Indian Ports Act, 2025, lays down the statutory framework governing ports, the Rules prescribe the procedures and documentation required for implementation of the Act. In particular, they introduce a detailed compliance framework governing port reception facilities, management of vessel-generated waste, submission of advance waste notices, issuance of waste delivery receipts, maintenance of records, biennial audits and pollution reporting. As the Rules commenced on publication and carry no transition period, ports and vessel operators should review their existing waste management, reporting and record-keeping arrangements against these requirements now.