Kolkata Port to carry out hydrological surveys before dredging
To better determine depths in the areas slated for dredging in the Hooghly estuary, particularly in the shipping channel leading to the Haldia Dock Complex (HDC), the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata is planning to conduct a hydrological survey before initiating dredging.
The port authorities will open the bidding process this month to secure a contractor for the dredging through a tender. Once that is decided, the port will undertake a joint hydrographic survey with the chosen contractor.
Subsequently, similar joint surveys will be carried out once during each neap tide, which occurs twice each month.
A tide just after the first or third quarters of the Moon, when there is least difference between high and low tides, is called neap tide. During neap tide, the high tides are not too high and the low tides are not too low.
To facilitate the smooth passage of vessels in the silt-laden Hooghly tributary of the Ganga, which meets the sea (Bay of Bengal) at Sagar Island, the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port regularly conducts dredging.
An official said that, on average, 15 vessels (inward and outward) traverse the shipping channel each day. The port maintains the channel depths through regular dredging using Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHD).
The Hooghly estuary houses two dock systems, one in Kolkata and the other in Haldia, situated 144 km and 44 km inland, respectively, from Sagar Island at the estuary’s mouth.
