Purpose designed Ganges dredger
IHC Merwede named and launched the 5,500m³ trailing suction hopperdredger, DCI Dredge XIX in a ceremony on Monday at the company’s shipyard inKrimpen aan den Ijssel in The Netherlands.
The innovative vessel was built for Dredging Corporation of India Ltd and the ceremony was performed by Mrs Sunitha Vasan, the spouse of the Indian Government’s honourable Minister for Shipping, in the presence of the Minister himself and the Indian Ambassador for The Netherlands, Mrs Bhaswati Mukherjee.
The contract for the design, construction and delivery of the vessel was signed between Dredging Corporation of India Ltd and IHC Dredgers on 29 April 2010. The keel was laid on 12 September 2011 and the vessel will be delivered in the third quarter of 2012.
DCI Dredge XIX is the first vessel from a series of three (including the DCI Dredge XX and DCI Dredge XXI) and will be built under dual class by Lloyd’s Register and the Indian Register of Shipping.
IHC Merwede has previously delivered ten vessels to Dredging Corporation of India Ltd. The new vessel will be deployed for the maintenance dredging project on the Hooghly River, which is a tributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal. It will dredge to depths of 25m through twin 700mm diameter suction pipes.
The DCI Dredge XIX is specially designed for this task, taking into account the Hooghly River’s soil properties, strong current and shallow depth. These DCI dredgers promise high productivity, reliability and efficiency as well as low power consumption and operational costs.
Technical specification
Length: 114m
Beam: 21.3m
Depth: 7.5m
Draught: 6.5m
Speed 14.1 knots
