Following a 26-day voyage across the North Atlantic, two floating docks have arrived at Damen Shiprepair Curaçao (DSCu) in the southern Caribbean.
The two docks were delivered by the heavy-lift carrier Xin Guang Hua to the Port of Willemstad, Curaçao on 26 April 2018 following a trip with more than its share of bad weather.
The larger of the two is a Panamax-class dock measuring 230 meters by 45 meters for tankers, box ships and other large vessels, while the smaller dock measures 108 meters by 23 meters and is ideal for all kinds of tugs, work boats and offshore support and anchor handling vessels.
The yard now has a busy two to three months ahead it, both afloat and ashore. Afloat, works to the internal compartments of the docks need to be completed, with some of the ballast tanks requiring blasting, painting and repairing to make them ready for operations.
Meanwhile dredging contractor Van Oord will dredge the seabed beneath the docks’ final position over the next six to eight weeks and piles will be driven in the same area to allow the construction of the dolphins required to moor and operate the docks safely.
Training on the floating docks will be provided by the same dock masters who operated the docks for many years in Flushing and Pernis respectively, in the Netherlands.
Damen Shipyards Group operates 34 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 10,000 people worldwide. The company has delivered more than 6,000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers some 160 vessels annually to customers worldwide.