The Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) has recently taken the delivery of the 5,500m³ trailing suction hopper dredger 'DCI Dredge XX' from IHC Merwede from its shipyard in Kinderdijk, The Netherlands.
Before the delivery, the dredger was named and launched by Ms R Mohanty, the spouse of Captain DK Mohanty, the managing director of DCI in the presence of Ms Geetu Joshi, director of the Ministry of Shipping in India.
'DCI Dredge XX' is the second vessel of a series of three. Other vessels in the series include the 'DCI Dredge XIX', which was delivered in November last year, and the 'DCI Dredge XXI', which is expected to be delivered by midway through 2013.
Powered by two MAN B&W 8L32/44CR engines, each rated for 4,100kW, the vessel can dredge at the depth of 25 metres and has a service speed of 14.1 knots. It can accommodate 35 people and has an overall length of 114 metres with a beam of 21.3 metres.
"The vessel will be deployed along with the 'DCI Dredge XIX' for the maintenance dredging project on the Hooghly River, which is a tributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal," IHC Merwede said in a statement.
"The dredgers feature high levels of productivity, reliability and efficiency as well as low power consumption and operational costs," the statement adds.
DCI's dredging fleet is specially designed for this task, taking into account the Hooghly River's soil properties, strong current and shallow depth. The vessels have been built under dual classification requirements of Lloyd's Register and Indian Register of Shipping (IRS).
IHC Merwede has previously supplied ten vessels to DCI, having been selected as supplier due to "efficiency and reliability in delivering previous orders on time".
J Kanojia
