Groundwork begins for Thoothukudi shipbuilding yard with detailed land, seabed studies

CHENNAI: The proposed shipbuilding yard near VO Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi will undergo a detailed study of land and seabed conditions, including drilling of 127 boreholes and offshore surveys across around 10 sq km.

The Port Authority has floated a Rs 6.78 crore tender for the work, which is expected to establish the ground and seabed conditions at the proposed site before the next stages of planning and development.

The proposed Rs 38,000 crore shipyard is planned with an annual capacity of 2.5 million gross tonnes and is expected to function as the anchor facility for the wider 2,500-acre Thoothukudi shipbuilding cluster.

The port authority will undertake a detailed study of its land and seabed, including drilling of 127 boreholes and offshore surveys across around 10 sq km.

The study will cover 57 boreholes onshore and 70 offshore. It will involve collecting soil and rock samples and carrying out tests to assess the nature and strength of the ground, including 1,407 standard penetration tests and soil sampling operations to understand the sub-surface conditions.

The offshore exercise will examine the seabed and the conditions below it. The surveys include multibeam echo sounder, side-scan sonar, magnetometer, sub-bottom profiling and ultra-high-resolution seismic surveys. These studies are intended to provide information on seabed levels, underwater features, sub-surface layers and other conditions relevant to the proposed development, and the work is expected to be completed in 210 days.

The port authority has issued a work order for Detailed Project Report (DPR) preparations that will assess the technical and commercial feasibility of the project, including capacity and configuration of the shipyard, shipbuilding and ship-repair potential, production facilities and the types of vessels that could be targeted.

The DPR will be based on Indian and global demand, competing shipyards and potential customers, with the study also focusing on annual vessel output, Compensated Gross Tonnage (CGT) capacity and steel throughput.

The proposed cluster is being developed through National Shipbuilding - Heavy Industries Park Tamil Nadu Ltd (NSHIP-TN), a 50:50 joint venture between VOC Port and SIPCOT. The two entities signed an MoU in September 2025 to develop a mega shipbuilding cluster at Thoothukudi as part of India's broader strategy to emerge as one of the world's top five shipbuilding nations by 2047.