KARACHI: Karachi Port Trust-KPT has beaten the highest cargo-handling record in its 138 years’ history by exceeding the figure of 54.685 million tonnes of cargo in FY 2025-26, and provided some good news to the maritime sector of Pakistan amidst the pressure on regional shipping lines due to geo-political disturbances.
Karachi Port Cargo Record
The federal minister for maritime affairs Junaid Anwar Chaudhry informed the media that KPT had broken its highest ever cargo-handling record and stated that the milestone was a proof of the development in the port and shipping industry of Pakistan. This record was set by KPT in FY 2017-18 by handling 54.685 million tonnes of cargo, which was officially announced.
“This clearly shows the development in the maritime sector and our efforts to become a regional hub for shipping and logistics are not decreasing rather increasing,” said Chaudhry in response to the question by the media.
KPT Cargo Handling
The numbers tell a stark story. Container throughput crossed 2.651 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) the standard global measure of containerised cargo smashing the previous annual record. A single month, April 2026, produced 111,300 TEUs, the highest volume any month in KPT’s history has ever generated. The port handled 1,093 container ships, 218 bulk carriers, 180 general cargo vessels and 452 liquid bulk tankers across the fiscal year a total of 1,943 ship calls, with vessel movement registering 11 percent year-on-year growth.
Also Read: Karachi Port Breaks Eight-Year Record With 2,000 Ship Calls
Karachi Port did not arrive at this milestone in a vacuum. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran beginning in February 2026, rerouted significant regional shipping traffic and placed Pakistan’s ports under an unexpected spotlight. With Gulf-facing supply chains disrupted, Karachi’s role as an alternative transit corridor gained fresh urgency and KPT delivered.
KPT Chairman Admiral Shahid Ahmad credited internal reforms as much as external tailwinds. “Operational efficiency, administrative capacity and infrastructure capability have all improved significantly,”. He confirmed that port deepening work continues targeting draught capacity for vessels up to 100,000 tonnes alongside development of a bulk export facility projected to hold eight million tonnes of storage, which would rank among the largest in the region.
Export Growth Surges
The data also reveals strong export momentum. The export cargo through the port increased by 6.49 percent to 20.02 million tons. The handling of dry cargo increased by 3.57 percent to 41.68 million tons, while the handling of liquid bulk cargo increased by 7.56 percent to 12.28 million tons.. KPT currently ranks 90th among approximately 400 ports globally a standing that port officials describe as a floor, not a ceiling.
Future Expansion Plans
The government’s stated ambition goes beyond domestic records. Chaudhry reiterated the Islamabad government’s old idea of turning Pakistan into a transshipment point that connects South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, an approach parallel to CPEC and the economic diplomatic efforts being made by Pakistan. But whether this will result in infrastructure development is the more difficult question facing the sector.
For now, though, the numbers stand on their own. A port that opened in 1887 under colonial administration, built primarily to serve British India’s cotton trade, processed more cargo in fiscal year 2025-26 than at any other point in its existence. That is not a ministerial talking point. That is the ledger.
