Primus Partners Report Flags Up to ₹4,000 Crore Annual Logistics Inefficiency from Delayed Dredger Mobilisation; Calls for ₹20,000 Crore Manufacturing Push

Bengaluru : Primus Partners, in collaboration with Primus Research, has released a new report, Clear the Dredgers: Faster Today and Build them Tomorrow, examining the link between dredger mobilisation, port efficiency and India’s maritime manufacturing capabilities. The report estimates that delays in draft enhancement and specialised dredger mobilisation could contribute to logistics inefficiencies of up to ₹4,000 crore annually, while making the case for a parallel push to build specialised dredging vessels in India.

The report argues that India’s maritime ambitions cannot be realised through port capacity expansion alone. Navigational depth, enabled by timely capital and maintenance dredging, directly influences the size of vessels that ports can accommodate, cargo carrying capacity, vessel turnaround time and the overall efficiency of maritime logistics. With India’s maritime sector handling approximately 95% of the country’s trade by volume and 70% by value, the report identifies dredging as a critical but often underappreciated component of port-led growth.

A key finding of the report is that specialised foreign dredgers remain necessary in the near term for complex capital dredging, deep-channel works, hard-strata excavation and time-sensitive port development projects where adequate domestic capacity is not currently available. The report therefore calls for a clearance framework that is secure but more predictable, coordinated and digitally integrated, rather than reducing the level of regulatory scrutiny.

“India’s maritime opportunity is increasingly defined by what happens below the waterline. Dredging determines whether the capacity we are building at our ports can actually be utilised at scale. The immediate priority should be to make the mobilisation of specialised dredging assets faster and more predictable, without compromising national security or regulatory oversight. At the same time, every foreign dredger that India needs today should inform the class of vessels we build domestically tomorrow. This is not simply a clearance reform or a shipbuilding opportunity; it is a question of maritime competitiveness,” said Davinder Sandhu, Chairman & Co-Founder, Primus Partners.

The report proposes that the Government consider a ₹20,000 crore Strategic Dredger Manufacturing Window by converging existing maritime schemes, rather than creating an entirely new funding architecture. The proposed framework envisages ₹10,000 crore through the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) for vessel-level support, ₹4,000 crore through the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS) for shipyard and ecosystem capacity, and ₹6,000 crore through the Maritime Development Fund (MDF) for long-term financing, equity support and interest incentivisation.

The report recommends that the manufacturing programme be specification-led, beginning with the classes of vessels India currently depends on from overseas. This includes Cutter Suction Dredgers for capital dredging, large and ultra-large Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers for maintenance dredging and reclamation, and specialised marine support vessels. The objective is to enable Indian shipyards to manufacture the same class of specialised dredgers that are currently being imported within the next five to seven years.

“India has reached a point where maritime infrastructure policy needs to look beyond physical assets and focus on the capabilities that enable those assets to perform. A strategic dredger manufacturing programme can address an immediate capability gap while creating a new high-value segment within India’s shipbuilding ecosystem. If designed around clearly identified vessel specifications, existing financing mechanisms and shipyard readiness, it can move the conversation from import dependence to domestic capability and, eventually, global manufacturing,” said Pragya Priyadarshini, Managing Director, Primus Partners.

The report also highlights the importance of reforming the existing multi-agency clearance architecture. While the framework involving maritime authorities, MoPSW, MHA, MoD, MEA and customs serves important security and regulatory functions, the report recommends greater coordination through a unified digital workflow, parallel processing, standardised documentation, risk-based assessment and improved end-to-end visibility.

The report’s central proposition is therefore two-fold: clear specialised foreign dredgers faster today where domestic capability is unavailable, while building the same capability in India for tomorrow. It argues that this approach can simultaneously improve port efficiency, reduce avoidable logistics costs and create a strategic manufacturing opportunity within India’s maritime ecosystem.

The report notes that India’s port capacity has already expanded substantially, from 1,400 MMTPA in 2013–14 to 2,762 MMTPA in 2024–25, while average turnaround time at major ports has declined from 94 hours to 48.06 hours. Against this backdrop, the report argues that the next phase of maritime competitiveness will increasingly depend on eliminating operational bottlenecks and developing the specialised capabilities required to utilise expanded port infrastructure effectively.

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