IHC Merwede Launches DCI DREDGE XXI (The Netherlands)

IHC Merwede has successfully named and launched the 5,500m³ trailing suction hopper dredger, DCI DREDGE XXI, in a ceremony on 8 August 2013 at the company’s shipyard in Kinderdijk, The Netherlands.

It is building the innovative vessel for the Dredging Corporation of India Ltd (DCI).

The ceremony was performed by Mrs R Mohanty, the spouse of DCI Chairman and Managing Director Captain DK Mohanty.

The DCI DREDGE XXI is the third vessel in a series of three dredgers – including the DCI DREDGE XIX and DCI DREDGE XX – and is being constructed under the dual classes of Lloyd’s Register and Indian Register of Shipping.

IHC Merwede has previously supplied ten vessels to DCI, having been selected as a preferred supplier due to its efficiency and reliability in delivering previous orders on time.

The vessel will be deployed – along with the DCI DREDGE XIX and DCI DREDGE XX – for the maintenance-dredging project on the Hooghly River, which is a tributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal.

These new DCI vessels are specially designed for this task, taking into account the Hooghly River’s soil properties, strong current and shallow depth.

These dredgers feature high levels of productivity, reliability and efficiency.

The DCI DREDGE

XIX and DCI DREDGE XX have already been successfully utilised in operations, and the DCI DREDGE XXI will be delivered in the first quarter of 2014.

“IHC Merwede is looking forward to continuing its successful working relationship with DCI”, says Bram Roelse, Managing Director of IHC Merwede’s Dredging division.

“Infrastructure developments in India have increased the need to improve the navigability of rivers and ports and this has in turn led to a greater requirement for dredging vessels and equipment. This class of dredgers will boost the performance of DCI to considerable heights and further strengthen its position on the Indian continent.”