Dredging Maintenance Plan for the Kolkata Port, India

Abstract

The present study reports on a systematic procedure and maintenance plan for conducting dredging activity at the Kolkata port located in the Head Bay region, east coast of India. It is one of the oldest riverine ports in the country constructed by the British East India Company. The port comprises two docks, viz. Kolkata Dock Complex and the Haldia Dock System under the administrative control of the Kolkata Port Trust. The navigation channel located in the Hooghly River accommodates sea-going vessels with 200 GRT with pilotage assistance cruising upstream almost 145 km from Sagar Islands located in Hooghly estuary. The navigation channel experiences high rates of sedimentation being a riverine port. This study investigates the sedimentation rate throughout the navigation channel, identifying zones of high sedimentation rate. The behavioural pattern of tides and currents is analysed using the state-of-the-art ADCIRC model, and wave conditions are simulated using SWAN model. The hydrodynamic information obtained from ADCIRC and SWAN is input to the SEDTRANS model. Based on the intensity of sedimentation, the maintenance plan is proposed for three dredging seasons. On the basis of this scientific rationale and seasonal dredging maintenance procedure, it is anticipated that huge investments involved in the maintenance dredging of this channel can be minimized.