Waterways are also an important means of transportation Centuries ago our ships have been sailing to the Eastern and Western countries for trade. India has a long coastline of about 5700 kilometers. It is the second largest shipping country of the world. It has a large shipping fleet. The ships sail from India to other countries in the world. The ships sail from the places along the coast called seaports. India has about 10 major seaports and about 160 small seaports along its coastline. Mumbai is the largest seaport in India.