When referring to major port infrastructure frameworks or historical commercial groupings, the term "12 major ports" often points to key national maritime hubs designated under governmental port authorities, such as the major federal ports managed along national coastlines (including strategic gateways like Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata in regional contexts, or key designated Tier-1 maritime trade nodes globally). These facilities handle the overwhelming majority of domestic and international containerized cargo, bulk commodities, and hazardous material shipments, functioning as the backbone of national import-export supply chains and acting as primary multimodal logistics connectors for global shipping fleets.