Port Blair tide times

Port Blair is the administrative capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory, positioned on the southeast coast of South Andaman island where it commands the protected anchorage of the harbour named after William Blair, the British naval surveyor who charted these waters in 1789. The town of roughly 100,000 people is the transit hub for the entire archipelago: the Veer Savarkar International Airport, the main government ferry terminal at Phoenix Bay, and the inter-island boat services to Havelock, Neil, and the Andaman's outer islands all operate through here.

The tidal regime at Port Blair is semidiurnal with a spring range of 3.2–3.8 m — among the largest in India. Two daily tidal cycles of approximately equal height drive strong tidal currents through the narrow passages between South Andaman and the surrounding islands. The Aberdeen Jetty in Port Blair's inner harbour and the Phoenix Bay ferry terminal both operate within a partially enclosed water body where the tidal influence is measurable but moderated. The open harbour and the passage between South Andaman and Rutland Island to the south are where tidal currents are most significant: 2–3 knots at peak spring ebb in the Rutland Strait.

The Cellular Jail — Kala Paani, as the colonial prisoners named it — stands directly on the Port Blair waterfront, its seven radiating wings visible from the harbour approach. Built between 1896 and 1906, it held Indian independence activists in solitary confinement, its isolated island location intended to make escape impossible. The most famous prisoner was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, imprisoned here 1911–1924. The building is now a national memorial and the mandatory first stop for most visitors to the Andamans. The sea wall below the jail's eastern face is exposed at low spring tides, dropping 2–3 m below the base of the wall to reveal the intertidal rock face and the coral growth that colonises the lower exposed zone. The best photographs of the jail's seafront elevation are taken at low water from a boat or from the waterfront road, when the full height of the sea wall above the water is visible.

For boaters and paddlers, Port Blair's inner harbour is well sheltered at all tidal states. The Aberdeen Jetty handles the fishing fleet and inter-island government ferries; the Chatham Island jetty and boatyard — connected to the mainland by a short causeway — is the departure point for many organised dive and snorkel day trips. The tidal current in the approach channel to the harbour, through the passage east of Chatham Island, runs at 1.0–1.5 knots at peak spring flood and ebb. Kayakers should plan harbour-exit and re-entry around the slack water periods — roughly 30 minutes on either side of high and low water — when the passage current is manageable.

The inter-island ferry services from Phoenix Bay are the critical logistics for any multi-island itinerary. The government ferries (MV Makruzz, MV Havelock) and private launches to Havelock Island operate on fixed timetables that do not adjust for tidal state, but the journey time and sea state on the crossing are affected by tidal current in the passages between islands. On spring tides, the passage current adds or subtracts 15–25 minutes to the 90-minute Havelock crossing. The sea state in the inter-island passages on a spring ebb against a 1.5 m southwest swell can make the crossing rough for those prone to seasickness.

Anglers target grouper, snapper, and barracuda on the offshore reefs accessible by boat from the harbour. The reef system around North Passage Island is productive for bottom-fishing; the 60-minute slack-water window is when baits hold position and bite rates are highest. Shore fishing from the Aberdeen Jetty area and the rocky points around Corbyn's Cove (3 km south of town) is productive on the ebb. Corbyn's Cove — a sheltered sand crescent accessible by road — is the closest family beach to Port Blair, with a snorkeable coral reef offshore at mid-tide and above.

For photographers, the Cellular Jail at dawn — before tourist traffic arrives, with early light on the red-brick facade — and the Phoenix Bay ferry loading are the primary Port Blair subjects. Low water at the Cellular Jail exposes the full seawall height and intertidal rock texture below the jail's base.

All tide predictions for Port Blair come from the Open-Meteo Marine gridded model. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes; height accuracy is ±0.3 m above Chart Datum.