Page 50: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2013)

50 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? APRIL 2013 DREDGINGEuropean dredging giants con-tinue to make a clean sweep of all major Indian dredging proj-ects, a market condition large- ly attributed to the lack of an environ-ment conducive to encouraging Indian companies into large scale dredging. In short, there are no parallel ?protectionist policies? in place like those that exists in several maritime countries.Big players in the India dredging mar- ket, including Dutch and Belgian dredg-ing companies, particularly VanOord, Royal Boskalis, Jan De Nul and Dredg-ing International, have ruled the Indian dredging market; and if the present trend continues, they could very well remain in charge of the situation for some time to come.With the increased focus on port infra- structure development, escalating size of vessels calling at the Indian ports and increased attention being paid to coastal shipping and inland water transporta-tion, the dredging boom underway is unprecedented. There are 13 Major Ports (which come under the federal govern-ment) and approximately 187 non-major Ports (under the various state govern-ments). Many of these are set on enhanc-ing throughput capacity by taking the dredging route. The 13 federal ports are working at 85% capacity, where 70% is considered to be ideal. Mumbai?s Jawa- harlal Nehru Port (JNPT), the largest container port in India, is working at nearly 100% capacity. The total handling capacity of all the ports is 689.83 million tons on March 31, 2012. The draft at Indian ports, in channels as well as alongside berths has historically been very low and not commensurate with global developments. Comparing the top 20 container ports of the world where the draft exceeds 15 meters, the situation in India is pathetic, to be forth-right. Barring some newer ports that have achieved draft of over 14 meters, the minimum draft at most other ports is less than 10 meters. Even JNPT has a draft of only 11 meters at high tide. The government?s Maritime Agenda Dredging India For enhancing the draft in ports or undertaking major dredging projects, India still relies on foreign dredging giants, a situation not likely to change unless the government comes out with a policy encouraging investment in the dredging industry. By Joseph R. Fonseca, MumbaiCutter Suction Dredger, Cyrus II of Royal Boskalis. MR #4 (50-57).indd 50MR #4 (50-57).indd 504/2/2013 4:35:35 PM4/2/2013 4:35:35 PM