The Port of Visakhapatnam (also called Vizag) is located in east central India on an embayment off the Bay of Bengal about 325 nautical miles northeast of the Port of Chennai (formerly Madras) and some 468 kilometers southwest of the Port of Paradip. The Port of Visakhapatnam's natural harbor is formed by two promontories that create the only protected harbor on the Coromandel Coast. The Port of Visakhapatnam is home to the headquarters of India's Eastern Naval Command. In 2001, almost 983 thousand people lived in the city of Visakhapatnam, and more than 1.3 million lived in the urban area.
