The new Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) of 12,000 cubic meter capacity which is under construction at Cochin Shipyard for Dredging Corporation of India is expected to be delivered by September 2025.
This is the first Beagle Series 12 Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger of 12,000 Hopper capacity to be built under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Scheme, Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said in Lok Sabha while answering a question.
The ₹800 crore TSHD which is used to maintain the channel of ports is the culmination of the efforts of the Ministry to bring in the best-in-class global technology into India under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative. Hitherto, all such dredgers owned and operated in were procured from abroad. The dredger based on the globally acclaimed Beagle Platform of IHC Holland will be customised to meet all Indian requirements. Cochin Shipyard and IHC Holland B V have signed a MoU for collaborating on technology and design for high-capacity, complex dredgers, official sources said.
Replying to the question raised by member Kalanidhi Veeraswamy about whether DCI lacks machinery to compete with private players, the Minister said that DCI has a vessels fleet consisting of 10 Trailer Suction Hopper Dredgers of 59,513 cubic meters cumulative hopper capacity, two Cutter Suction Dredgers, one Backhoe Dredger and other ancillary crafts. DCI has a major market share in the field of maintenance dredging in India.
The company is carrying out maintenance dredging at major ports and has been participating in bidding process of dredging contracts, the Minister said while DCI is currently under the administrative control of four major ports such as Visakhapatnam Port Authority, Paradip Port Authority, Deendayal Port Authority and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority with shareholding of 19.47, 18, 18 and 18 per cent respectively.
