The increasing focus on dredging in the country has resulted in the rapid growth of the dredging equipment market. At present, the equipment needs of the industry are met largely by foreign suppliers. These players have set up subsidiaries in India to meet the specific requirements of the domestic dredging industry. Some of these players have also set up workshops and service centres for providing technical assistance and after-sales service as well as for meeting the demand for components.
Innovations in dredging equipment
Netherlands-based Royal IHC is a leading supplier of dredging equipment in the country. Over the years, IHC has undertaken several research and development activities to improve the operational efficiency of dredgers and dredging components. Key dredging solutions provided by the company are trailing suction hopper dredgers (TSHDs) including the standard IHC Beagle, the IHC Easydredge series, special dredging equipment including backhoe dredgers, split hull vessels, grab hopper dredgers, and cutter suction dredgers (CSDs) including the standard IHC Beaver series, and other custom-built dredgers. Easydredge offers a series of small multi-purpose TSHDs with a simple and straightforward design that are not only cost effective, but also adaptable to different dredging requirements. Besides, IHC TT Pumps is another key equipment offered by the company and is equipped with a highly efficient IHC single-walled dredge pump.
Another Netherlands-based company, Damen Dredging has built over 300 dredgers and over 6,500 vessels at its own yards and those of its partners. The company has experience in a broad range of vessel types, ranging from offshore, fast supplies and tugs, to TSHDs and CSDs. The company offers innovative dredging components and systems such as suction pipe systems and booster stations, and various types of dredgers/vessels. The CSDs offered by the company have been designed for heavy duty operations. All its dredgers are dismountable and transportable via road to reach remote areas. Besides, the Ports and Channel Maintenance series under TSHDs offered by the company specialises in dredging silt and is available in different sizes ranging from the TSHD 650 to the TSHD 2000. It is suited for applications in confined areas since it is equipped with a high-power 360 degree rotating azimuth thruster and channel-type bow thruster. Apart from this, the company has developed a wide variety of multi-purpose TSHDs with highly compact dimensions that offer high payload capacities for efficient dredging. These have been designed to move large quantities of material in the shortest possible time. They deploy a smart and innovative technology that enables operations in a safe working environment, with efficient utilisation of diesel power. Damen is also a key supplier of marine aggregate dredgers (MADs) and offers different types of MADs, including MAD3500, MAD6400 and MAD8000 that are highly specialised for gravel and coarse sand. Some of the other dredgers offered by the company are the water-injection dredgers, DOP dredgers and deep CSDs. While the company has already developed an electric CSD, it is currently in the process of building electric boosters for ensuring zero-emission dredging.
Damen’s CSDs and TSHDs can be monitored with Damen Triton, a remote monitoring and operational insight system. Besides, the data about the performance of various dredgers deployed can be stored on a cloud platform for real-time monitoring.
Meanwhile, other technology providers are also developing innovative methods for monitoring of dredging projects. For example, Russia-based Nonius Engineering specialises in 3D positioning systems for all dredger types and provides services such as production monitoring for suction dredgers and remote monitoring for dredging projects. The company’s NoniusSlurryMeterspecialises in on-the-fly logging of the productive output of a dredge pump. The system not only provides real-time dredge output information, but also accurately calculates the production of slurry and analyses the density of liquid in the pipe. The company has developed a non-nuclear production management system to measure the density and velocity of slurry in pipes. The company is currently working on a technical vision system for dredgers to measure depth around the dredgers online and supply this data to the 3D positioning system.
As far as dredger components are concerned, Spain- based BYG Company has expertise in a wide variety of ground-engaging tools, including cutter teeth and adapters used in CSDs for dredging projects. The company offers hammerless systems to enhance the efficiency of dredging equipment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, continued emphasis on deepening and widening draughts at ports and government initiatives for the development of inland waterways will expand the market size for dredging equipment in the next few years. This, in turn, will significantly increase demand for spare parts and supporting equipment. Advanced tracking and monitoring technologies are also expected to gain traction in the near future.
Based on presentations by Gert-Jan de Jong, Design and Proposal Engineer, Damen Dredging; JacoKleijwegt, Area Sales Manager, India, Royal IHC; Suvas Mehta, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shantilal C. Mehta; and Alexander Troitsky, CEO, Nonius Technologies