DCI inks Historic Ship Building Agreement for Construction of First Beagle Series 12 Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger 

NEW DELHI: Dredging Corporation of India has signed a historic Ship Building Agreement for the First Make in India Project for Construction of First Beagle Series 12 Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger of 12000 Cubic Meter capacity at Cochin Shipyard Limited today in  presence of Union Minister of Ports Shipping & Waterways & Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal, MoS Shripad Naik, and Secretary for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Dr Sanjeev Ranjan .

Speaking on the occasion Sarbananda Sonowal said  the Ministry noting the importance of dredging for operation of Ports has issued Dredging Guidelines for Major Ports.  He said the need for sufficient dredgers is of utmost importance for timely completion of dredging and the new dredgers would be able to bring in the much needed efficiency and timely completion of dredging.

He said this in turn would enable smooth operation of vessels.  Sonowal said the dredger built under the ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ concept is one of the largest initiatives under Atmanirbhar Bharat and is a true reflection of international Collaboration for Make in India. He said the Ministry under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi  would be able to fulfil the objectives of the Maritime India Vision, 2030 with well equipped dredgers for operation of ports to bring down logistic cost of the cargo.

Sonowal said that this Ship Building Agreement would also benefit from the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy (SFAP) (2016) of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways for Indian Shipyards for shipbuilding contracts secured between 01.04.2016 and 31.03.2026. Financial assistance is granted under this policy to Indian Shipyards equal to 17% of the lower of “Contract Price” or the “Fair Price” or “actual payments received”, whichever is least.He said a provision of Rs. 4,000 Crore has been made for ten-year period, viz. 2016-2026.

Sonowal also stated that the Ministry of PSW is working hard towards achieving the goals laid out by the Prime Minister under the “Waste-to-Wealth” initiative. He said the Ministry has issued Dredging Guidelines at Major Ports to ensure that the dredge material has to be taken up for recycling and reuse based on scientific study. This will enable to employ sustainable dredging disposal mechanism and promote waste to wealth. He lauded the initiative of Cochin Port Trust which has been able to extract the dredged material and earn precious revenue by auction of dredge material. He stated that Paradip Port has been utilising 1 million cubic meter of dredged material for reclamation of land for Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. Further, the Visakhapatnam Port and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port has been using part of dredged material for beach nourishment.

The Minister congratulated the DCIL and CSL teams and also the officers of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and wished them best of luck for this first Make In India Dredger Building Project. He also thanked IHC Holland which is the technology partner for this project and stated that this Ship Building Agreement is a very good example of Indo-Dutch collaboration in the Make in India initiative and in strengthening the long-standing Maritime relationship between the two countries.

Appreciating the initiatives of Cochin Shipyard Limited in technologically high end vessel building segment, the Minister stated this new dredger construction project is another major step for CSL in this directions which allows the Company to leverage its technological prowess and prepare the ground to “Make In India for the World”.

The Occasion was addressed by MoS Ports Shipping and Waterways, Shripad Naik, Ambassador of Kingdom of Netherlands, Marten Van-den Berg, Secretary Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Dr. Sanjeev Ranjan, CEO Niti Ayog, Amitabh Kant, Chairman Inland Waterways Authority of India, Sanjay Bandopadhyaya, and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of DCI Dr. GYV Victor

Dredging Corporation of India Limited (DCIL), Visakhapatnam is a listed dredging company in India with  majority of its shares held by the consortium of four (4) major ports Authorities viz a viz, Visakhapatnam Port, Paradip Port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Deendayal Port. DCI is a premier dredging organization of India catering to the dredging and allied services to Major Ports, Minor Ports, Indian Navy, Fishing Harbours and other maritime organizations.

Prof Dr G.Y.V Victor, AIDC, MD & CEO of Dredging Corporation of India Limited &  Madhu S Nair, Chairman & Managing Director from Cochin Shipyard Limited executed this historic Ship Building Agreement Signing Ceremony.