Mormugao is a coastal town situated in the eponymous subdistrict of Southern Goa state, India. It has a deep natural harbour and remains Goa's chief port. Towards the end of the Indo-Portuguese era in 1917, thirty-one settlements were carved out of the Salcette territory, to form Mormugao with Mormugao seaport as its headquarters. The remaining thirty-five settlements were retained in Salcette which encompass the present-day Salcete taluka with Margao as its headquarters.