The old harbour is south of New Mangalore port and is now used for fishing and for ferrying small goods.

The provisions of the Major Port Trust Act 1963 were applied to NMPT with effect from 1 April 1980.

[5] New Mangalore port (NMPT) achieved a milestone on 30 June 2023 by handling highest parcel traffic of 2689 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), consisting of 1210 import TEUs and 1479 export TEUs.

[6] The major imports of the port are crude and petroleum products, LPG, wood pulp, timber logs, finished fertilizers, liquid ammonia, sand, phosphoric acid, other liquid chemicals, and containerized cargo.

International tourists alight here and travel the coastal (Karavali) region of Karnataka state.