Mercator, one of India's largest Marine and Energy group with businesses in oil & gas, coal, shipping and dredging, today announced that it is expanding its dredging business by adding two more dredgers to its fleet.

The company has taken delivery of two European built dredgers; one is a Trailer Suction Hopper Dredger which would be one of the largest capacity dredgers in India and second a Bucket Ladder Dredger. Both these dredgers would be commissioned around first week of September this year.

The above acquisition substantially enhances the capacity and capability of Mercator to serve the coastal dredging activities at major and minor ports of India as well as the Indian Navy.

With the addition of these two dredgers, Mercator's fleet has grown to 9 dredgers, making it the second largest dredging company in India. Mercator’s dredger fleet is currently deployed on its long term contracts.

Mercator has recently announced its first oil discovery through its subsidiary, Mercator Petroleum (MPL). Crude oil flowed from its very first well, Jyoti -1 in CB-9 block in Cambay basin, Gujarat, India, onto the surface in presence of the DGH representative. The discovery opens up a large corridor of possible hydrocarbon accumulation in the area. The discovery is also testament to the company’s strong team and capability in the Oil & Gas exploration space.

Shares of the company declined Rs 0.4, or 2.13%, to trade at Rs 18.40. The total volume of shares traded was 46,759 at the BSE (11.07 a.m., Thursday).