40% of the ‘The Largest and Most Advanced Dredgers in India’s Cochin Shipyard’ completed at 40%

DCI dredger nourishes Visakhapatnam as part of corporate social responsibility. |Picture source: V. Raju

Sources of Visakhapatnam-Beathectnam-Sheadpaten Naborthem-Beci India Ltd (DCI) say about 40% of the “DCI Dredge Godavari” have been completed in Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) (CSL). The keel of the ship was built in partnership with Royal Dutch IHC and was laid in September 2024.

According to the interim schedule, CSL may launch the vessel on July 20. This means now it will start preparing the ship for testing by installing the required machines. After this operation is completed, the ship will be ready to operate to the owner (DCI-Visakhapatnam). Once commissioned, the dredger will be the most advanced dredger ever made in India.

The hopper capacity of this tail suction hopper dog (TSHD) built for DCI is 12,000 cubic meters, and is a major initiative of the Indian government’s “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” initiative, thus increasing the capacity of all the major ports of India envisioned in India’s India Vision (MIV-2030).

The TSHD is a self-propelled ship designed to dig out material from the seabed while sailing. It uses the trailing tail to have a drag head at the end to absorb the material and transport it into the hopper. TSHD is versatile and is used in various projects such as deep waterways, land reclamation and port construction.

“About 40% of construction work has been completed in CSL-Kochi. [will be done on] July 20, 2025. We expect the ship to be handed over to us in December 2025 or January 2026. The cost of the ship is about Rs 95 billion. DCI officials told Hindu Under anonymous conditions.

The official added that the DCI dredger Godavari will be a prestigious asset in the country and an important milestone in India’s maritime capabilities.

The keel of DCI Dredge Godavari was laid in 2024 by the union ministers of ports, shipping and waterways in 2024. The event is actually also participated by the Royal Dutch IHC team, the Royal Dutch IHC team, the world leader in dredger design and architecture, providing design and technical support.

“The 127-meter-long and 28-meter-wide vessel is being built on the Royal IHC’s global ‘Beagle’ platform. It is being customized to meet all Indian requirements and is expected to provide a great help to the development program led by the centre,” DCI officials said.