- Business
- Dredging Corporation of India Limited Dredging Corporation of India Limited (DCIL) provides dredging and marine services to major ports, the Indian Navy, and other maritime organizations primarily in India with occasional operations abroad including Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Dubai. Incorporated in 1976 as a public sector enterprise and headquartered in Visakhapatnam, India, the company operates a fleet comprising 10 trailer suction hopper dredgers with a combined hopper capacity of 60,000 cubic meters, two cutter suction dredgers including DCI Dredge VII and DCI Dredge Aquarius, one backhoe dredger designated DCI Dredge BH1, one inland cutter suction dredger named DCI ID Ganga, multiple survey launches, a multi-purpose craft DCI Multicat I, and a utility tug DCI Tug VII; its core offerings encompass maintenance dredging to sustain navigational depths in shipping channels, capital dredging for harbor development and expansion, beach nourishment, land reclamation, shallow water dredging, de-siltation of inland waterways, project management consultancy, and marine construction predominantly for Indian seaports such as Visakhapatnam, Paradip, Haldia, Kandla, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore, Jawaharlal Nehru, Deendayal, Mumbai, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. As a Mini Ratna company under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways reporting through a consortium of four major ports—Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Paradip Port Trust, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, and Kandla Port Trust—DCIL handles approximately 50 to 60 million cubic meters of dredging annually, fulfilling about 55 percent of India's total requirements while holding ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certifications. In recent developments during India Maritime Week 2025, DCIL signed 22 memoranda of understanding worth ₹17,645 crore with 16 organizations including major ports like Visakhapatnam, Paradip, Jawaharlal Nehru, Deendayal, Cochin, Chennai, Mumbai, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee for dredging over 2 to 5 years; Hindustan Shipyard Ltd for dredger repairs and maintenance; Cochin Shipyard Ltd for dredger construction supporting Atmanirbhar Bharat; Bharat Earth Movers Ltd for indigenizing spares and developing inland dredgers; IHC for modernizing existing dredgers; National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts at IIT Chennai for bathymetric surveys, training, and capacity building; and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd for fuel and lubricants supply. The company pursues a ₹4,000 crore modernization initiative to enhance fleet capacity, sustainability, and operational efficiency ahead of its 50th anniversary, building on prior efforts like engaging IHC Dredgers BV Netherlands for a 5,500 cubic meter trailing suction hopper dredger in 2011 and strategic stake adjustments with government ports.