Port of Mumbai

Yesterday was a very exciting and tiresome day. Our group headed out on a 2 hour bus ride to the Port of Mumbai where we were to get a tour of the port and meet with Expeditors, a Seattle based logistics company. We arriving at CFS - a container storage area where we meet with Expeditors and the managers of one of the Port's. It was very interesting because we were provided with a lot of exposure that is not normally given to the "outsiders". Expeditors has been in the logistics business for over 25 years. Their strengths are being a non-asset based business that has a strong knowledge and skill set amongst its employees spread around the world.

The most interesting part of the day was actually going to the Port and being able to walk along the docks as ships were coming and going and containers were being unloaded. Again, safety not a big deal. Our group literally was under the containers as they were being lifted off of the ships and onto a truck. Not even the employees wore hard hats. Apparently many lives are lost on the docks each year. According to Madhu, who has been to ports in Shanghai and Seattle, this exposure to the ports is rarely given - a sign of Expeditors strong presence in the region. Mumbai has the 22nd largest port in the World and is smaller than Seattle's. Still, a very big operation and the largest in India. But a good question arises - if the biggest port in all of India is smaller than Seattle's, how do they currently handle and meet the shipping demands of a country with a population of over 1.3 billion people?

Again, kind of a mute point because Indians don't see it as an issue, but the infrastructure is weak. The port is located a good 2 hours out of the main part of Mumbai and the roads are terrible.

We have only had great company visits since being in India but the Port was by far one of the most interesting.

After the port we stopped at a large mall on the way back. We dined at McDonalds where I tried the salsa paneer wrap and had a bite of the chicken maharaja mac... delicious. I bought a cricket bat... no idea how I will get this home but it seemed like a good idea at the time and it was not all that expensive. The mall provided a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the Indian streets.

Paul