The dredging work at Karwar port a major naval
base in the west coast, which was taken up after a gap of six years, has now
been completed. With this, big vessels can easily enter the port without any
fear of getting stuck in silt.
According to port sources, about 40 per cent depth of the ship channel was
filled with silt.
Hence, it had become difficult for the fully loaded vessels to move near the
port. When the government gave its nod for dredging, a work tender of Rs 33
crore was floated. The dredging work was started in December and it got over
about a week ago.
The tender was
allotted to Chennai-based International Seaport Dredging Private Limited (ISD)
Company. In the last three months, it removed about 1.7 million cubic meter
silt from the ship channel and made a 150 meter channel to facilitate entry of
ship to the port from the deep sea, source added. As huge quantity of silt was
stored in the ship channel, ships were not able to carry more than 10 metric
tons of cargo
through the
channel. Moreover, fully loaded ships were not coming to the port due to silt
accumulation. The disruption in movement of ships had affected the revenue of
the port.
The 9.7 meter depth of the ship channel in the
port was reduced to 5.5 metre due to silt accumulation. With the completion of
dredging work, the depth has been increased to 8.5 meters. Now, the channel of
120 metre width and 2,000 metre length is free off silt. The vessels can easily
enter the port from the Light House Island entrance through the Channel.
According to a port officer, following waves, rain, river flow and pollution,
silt accumulates in the ship channel. Hence, the port authorities need to take
up dredging work at least once in three-four years.
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