National Dredging and Marine Services started its first dredging program at Karachi Port Trust (KPT) earlier this week.
For the first time in Karachi Port’s history, four major dredgers of different types are operating simultaneously: Rotterdam, Athena, Abul and Indus Dolphin. Together, they are deepening the approach channel, upper and lower harbor and South Asia Pakistan Terminals berths.
Upon completion within three months, the project will enable KPT to accommodate vessels up to 350 metres in length with a gross registered tonnage (GRT) of 100,000.
According to the Port officials, this initiative is expected to support higher trade volumes, lower shipping costs, and improve logistics efficiency – contributing to broader economic growth.
The project is set to deepen both the upper and lower harbor channels to 14 meters while increasing the depth at 14 berths to 15.5 meters, facilitating safer navigation and expanding cargo-handling capacity.