India’s Most Advanced High-Capacity Dredger Set For Launch At Cochin Shipyard

Cochin Shipyard Ltd is set to launch India’s first high-capacity dredger developed under the ‘Make in India’ initiative on 18 October. The vessel, named ‘DCI Dredge Godavari’, has been built for Dredging Corporation of India Ltd (DCI) with technical and design support from Dutch dredger specialist IHC Holland B.V.

The launch represents a critical phase in ship construction, marking the first time the vessel will enter water. This phase is essential for testing the dredger’s stability, buoyancy, and the performance of its technical systems in a marine environment. Officials said the dredger could take another six months before it is fully delivered.

The dredger, a trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) with a hopper capacity of 12,000 cubic metres, was ordered by Mumbai-listed DCI at a cost exceeding Rs 800 crore. TSHDs are specialised vessels used to maintain port channels.

The dredger’s keel was laid in September 2024, marking the start of construction, which faced minor delays due to technical issues with imported steel.

The dredger has been built at Cochin Shipyard’s new dry dock under the internationally recognised ‘Beagle’ platform of IHC Holland and customised for Indian operational needs. This is the first dredger built by the Mumbai-listed shipyard following a memorandum of understanding signed with IHC Holland in November 2020 to collaborate on high-capacity, complex dredgers.

Dredging Corporation of India, jointly owned by state-run ports including Visakhapatnam, Deendayal, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Paradip, is expanding its fleet to meet increasing dredging demands across the country.

Dredgers are highly specialised vessels with integrated technical components and strict performance standards. Officials said Cochin Shipyard’s experience in building large Cutter Suction Dredgers (CSDs) and Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHD) gives it an advantage in this field.

The launch comes at a time when the Indian government is actively promoting domestic shipbuilding through a ₹69,725-crore support package, under the Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives.

Experts say that operational and technical expertise in building large TSHDs is still mainly in Europe, especially the Netherlands, making the partnership with IHC Holland important for developing domestic capabilities.

Cochin Shipyard has identified dredger construction as a key area for revenue growth under its Strategy Roadmap 2030. Officials said that such collaborative operating models are important not only for financial growth but also for building technical competence within the country.

Reference: dredgewire

Source: Maritime Shipping News