MULTIPLE VESSEL DRY-DOCKING AND OTHER ISSUES RELATED WITH THE

OPERATION OF A FLOATING DOCK

G. Aguirrezabala, Tsakos Industrias Navales, Uruguay
SUMMARY
When the main tool of a ship repair shipyard is a floating dock and the market asks for extreme flexibility like undocking a bulk-carrier one day and dry-docking six fishing vessels next the technical procedures must support the
commercial efforts to make such operations possible. In this paper, we will analyse the way to dry-dock multiple vessels
simultaneously leaning them only on a row of keel blocks and the corresponding side wall of the floating dock. We also
consider problems relating to the location of side blocks, in the case of tankers or bulk-carriers, due to the difficulties
arising from attempts to match the strong points of the dock and the vessels structure. Finally, the paper will discuss
how dredging under floating docks is feasible without disturbing their operation.
1.

INTRODUCTION

Owned and operated by the Tsakos Group, and strategically situated in a natural bay in the Port of Montevideo,
Tsakos Industrias Navales is one of the largest shipyards
in the region and provides ship repair services to merchant vessels plying South Atlantic trading routes and to
the South Atlantic operating fishing fleets.
A floating dock of 200x40x16m with a 32m internal
breadth and 20,000 ton lifting capacity can accommodate
vessels up to 75,000 dwt for dry docking, repair, maintenance and conversion works. A smaller dock of
60x18x10m with a 14m internal breadth allows the yard
to attend dry docking and repairs of small vessels.

According to Schor [1]: Shipbuilding involves a long

period of construction and many repetitive operations
which permit use of detailed production planning and
control procedures, similar to those employed in manufacture. The ship repair yard, on the other hand, does not
enjoy sufficiently repetitive work or constancy of volume
of work to permit the adoption of rigid production planning and control procedures. However, a flexible system
with procedures varied to suit the type of job, can be
applied.
The purpose of this paper is to share our experience regarding how certain operational procedures can help to
face the natural menaces and inherent conflicts of the
activity. But, before that, we will give a glance to the
cauldron where those procedures are boiled.
2.

AT THE EDGE OF CHAOS

Consider the following typical situation:

Figure 1: Tsakos Industrias Navales premises.

Taking into consideration the diversity of the above mentioned market segments and the dry-docking means at
our disposal, a flexible work schedule is mandatory to
compete at the top of shipyards capacity, keeping the
windows open for new projects.

In our particular case, added to that tension between

commercial and technical possibilities, there is the necessity to continuously fight against the mud deposited under our floating docks by the harbour currents, threatening the maximum available draft over the keel-blocks
and thus our selling capability.

After the staying in the floating dry-dock of a bulkcarrier, a tanker is expected to come. That means
that only small changes in the distribution of side
blocks are necessary in order to match the strong
points of the dock to the new vessels structure.
A sudden delay of the tanker opens a window that
can be covered simultaneously dry-docking several
fishing vessels whose requests were kept warm in
the commercial oven. That is possible only if they
can be dry-docked immediately after undocking the
bulk-carrier, using the same floating dock but with a
totally different blocking layout.
Once performed that manoeuvre, the shadow of the
delayed tanker, like a ghost, urges us to finish the
dock works on the fishing vessels before her new estimated time of arrival. The feasibility of start shaping the new cradle for the tanker, using spare blocks,
should be analysed to avoid further delays.
In the middle of the planned dry-docking period, the
works in one of the fishing vessels are ready and the
owner put pressure on her undocking. Concurrently,
the propeller of a harbour tug was damaged, demanding an emergency dry-docking.

Next morning, in the same water, the finished fishing vessel is undocked and the tug-boat docked,
making happy two owners and frown the others. It
was necessary to work during night preparing the
new blocking and assuring the water-tightness of the
remaining vessels.
Finally, the expected tanker is canceled, but other
ships will come from beyond the horizon if we
adapt ourselves to their requirements.

Such circumstances can properly be considered to occur

at the edge of chaos. This is not merely a metaphorical
expression, it fits our picture into the theoretical frame of
complexity and complex adaptive systems (CAS).

procedures that allows our shipyard to adapt itself to

commercial momentum and physical handicaps. In figure
2 we can see a typical cradle, first step in that procedure.
In our floating dock, up to 6 cradles can be shaped to
receive the same quantity of fishing vessels (3 per side,
supposing a LOA=55m) leaning them only on a row of
keel blocks (K) and two side wall pillars (P). The distance between the center line of the keelblocks and the
internal face of the pillars is half-breadth plus 25 cm to
permit a leaning list of approximately two degrees.
Empty spaces (E) for echo-sounders and reinforcements
(R) where the load concentration is greater (i.e. under
engine room) are also considered in the design. Keelblocks are installed over the longitudinal bulkheads of
the floating dock.

Between chaos (where prediction is unthinkable) and

order (where change is unworkable), there is a land
where all is possible: complexity. A complex situation
arises when the details cannot be understood but the
whole can be appreciated by the ability to make patterns.
Like surfing, creativity is only practicable at the complex
crest of the wave, nor in the orderly calm sea neither in
the chaotic breaking wave. Thus, organizations dealing
continuously with complex situations are in the best
position to solve them.
The ship-repairing industry is a CAS because is a system of individual agents, who have the freedom to act in
ways that are not always totally predictable, and whose
actions are interconnected such that one agents actions
changes the context for other agents[2]. In a paper edited almost forty years before, Schor confirms that definition: The yard organization is not autonomous and does
not alone control yard operations. There is a companion
external organization of ship owners, naval architects,
subcontractors and regulatory agencies which also control operations[1].
As an individual agent in this world of change, a shiprepair company must learn from experience and foster an
environment favourable to the emergence of adaptive
patterns of behavior (i.e., operational procedures tailored
to the actual marketing requirements and natural restrictions).
Like fractals, CASs are self-similar: equal patterns can be
found at different levels. For example, the same complex
characteristics of the ship-repair activity as a whole, are
reproduced, in a smaller scale, in a typical dry-docking
operation. Out there, when the wind changes suddenly
and a wire-rope parts, the edge of chaos really cuts. In
such limit situations, an experienced crew will rely more
on self-organized patterns of behavior rather than on a
centralized control of details.

Figure 2: Typical cradle

In figure 3, we can visualize the next steps. After the
dock is flooded, one by one the ships are hauled in until
they reach her own reference mark in the corresponding
side wall. Once in position, the ship must be listed properly (see fig. 3A) using weights (W). When all the vessels are ready, the dock starts rising trying to copy the
average trim of the ships in order to reduce the stress in
their knuckles (see fig. 4). This is the most difficult step
due to the characteristic instability of fishing vessels in
docking condition and also due to the their loss of stability at the first touch between keel and blocks. During this
period is necessary to check constantly that the leaning
list is the correct one in each vessel. Continuing with
this process, all the ships finally will rest completely over
the keelblocks leaning on the pillars, in isostatic equilibrium, like shelved books. A set of wire ropes (R) secure
the vessels against any unexpected change in the docks
list (see fig. 3B) that, otherwise, must be kept adrift.
Immediately after the pontoon deck is over the water
level, our riggers install the bilge blocks (S) to complete
the cradle (see fig. 3C). If necessary, the centering of the
vessels can be checked with the help of divers, in the
stage corresponding with fig. 3B.
The advantages of this system are:

3.

MULTIPLE VESSELS, ONE DOCK

Multiple vessel dry-docking is one of such operational

In a floating dock designed to dry-dock one or two

ships at the center line, six or more vessels can be

simultaneously dry-docked using the side walls.

The absence of large bilge blocks allows the entrance of vessels with higher drafts due to the lack of
interference (see fig. 3A).
Due to the simplicity of the cradle, only a general
arrangement drawing is necessary to design it.
Trustworthy docking plans and line drawings not
always are available on board fishing vessels (regrettably, some fishermen and fishing companies think
that ships are a necessary evil).
Pillars help to center the vessel and permit to handle
the ship from one side of the dock only. Thus, two
vessels can be entering to the dock at the same time.

R
P

But it has also some drawbacks:

The list of the ship must be less than three degrees

(in order not to over-stress the pillars) and more than
one degree (to avoid the risk of tumbling the vessel). To check it continuously during the touching
stage, in six vessels at the same time, no instrument
is better than the naked eye.
Complete blocking (including bilge blocks) to assure
vessels stability during dry-docking is possible only
after the pontoon deck is over the water level.
Movement of weights on board, before the bilge
blocks are installed, are absolutely forbidden.
Welding of pillars to the pontoon deck and to the
side wall is a very time consuming task.

(B)
R

Anyway, this procedure proved its reliability during

more than thirty years of use with only two minor
incidents in his record, which fostered additional safety
measurements, conjugating the idea of Rear Admiral
Dr. Grace Murray Hopper: A ship in port is safe, but
thats not what ships are built for. Sail out to sea and do
new things.
4.

(A)

ONE VESSEL, MULTIPLE PROBLEMS

Another set of docking problems arises when one big

vessel is dry-docked in a floating dry-dock. The structure
of a steel floating dock is usually considered weaker than
the structure of the vessels to be dry-docked in it. Thus,
the primary concern of a Dock Master is to protect the
dock and the vessel against local and general overstresses.
For instance, if the structure of the dock is transversal,
then the position of the side blocks is defined by the
intersection of the longitudinal members of the vessels
bottom and the transversal bulkheads of the floating
dock. Other matching is possible only by coincidence or
tailoring.

(C)
P

But, in some cases, the fact that vessels are stronger than
the floating docks and that they can be considered like
rigid bodies, is only a myth. Certain ships (for example,
those with thin high tensile steel hull plating and proportionally large beams) can hide a transversal hogging that

Figure 3: Front views of three docking steps.

Figure 4: A longitudinal view showing the different trims of the vessels and of the dock
not always is considered when calculating the height of
the side blocks used to support a flat bottom. In order
to avoid buckling the plates associated to the above mentioned longitudinal members, such height could be up to
25mm less than the height of the corresponding keel
blocks.
On the contrary, overhanging is more spectacular but not
necessarily harmful. According to Daz [3], is possible to
dry-dock vessels in a floating dock with cantilevers up to
15% of their length without affecting the structural
strength of the dock-ship beam.
5.

DREDGING UNDER

Due to the currents present in the Montevideo Harbour,

the quantity of mud deposited under our floating docks
(the deepest points inside the bay) is very high. To fight
against this permanent diminution of the available drydocking draft we have two alternatives: batch dredging
or continuous dredging. The first method implies the
movement of the dock in order to free the water surface
over the pit for a normal dredging operation. That option
not only is very expensive but it is also associated with
huge earning losses. The second method, with the help of
an elephant trunk attached to our suction dredge IHC
Beaver 1500 (see fig. 5), permits a permanent dredging
operation. The dock itself can assist to this process pressing, when sinking, the mud into the trenches dredged
laterally. Thanks to this solution we can keep good drafts
for our customers, in a more efficient way.
6.

CONCLUSIONS

Moving heavy weights is always an eye-catching task.

Most of time slow and clumsy, never faster than a man
walking, such movements have a visual inertia, an expectation that something extraordinary could happen, that
make each of them unique, even tough they are repeated
time and again. If you add to that recipe the salty flavour

Figure 5: Dredge with attached elephant trunk

of the sea, the result is exhilarating. At least for us, sharing our experiences dry-docking, lifting and launching
vessels in such different ways that make us really rich in
possibilities and understanding. A last word about that
words (docking, lifting and launching) that guided us to
this conference: despite the inevitable shift of our interest, technical and economical, from the sea crafts to the
space crafts, they will stand in the future.
7.

REFERENCES

1. SCHOR, R., A Method for Increasing the Efficiency

of Ship Repair Yard Operation, paper presented at the
Spring Meeting, Philadelphia, Pa., of The Society of
Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, May 19 and 20,
1955. SNAME Transactions, 1955.
2. PLSEK, P., et al, Some Emerging Principles for Managing in Complex Adaptive Systems, <http://www.
plexusinstitute.com/edgeware/archive/think/main_filingl.
html> Version: November 25, 1997.

3. DIAZ, N., Puesta en Seco de Buques en Diques Flotantes cuando su Eslora es Apreciablemente Mayor que
la Eslora de Picaderos, Tandanor, 1973.
8.

AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY

Germn Aguirrezabala holds the current position of

Technical Manager at Tsakos Industrias Navales S.A.
He is responsible for the technical support activities of
the yard, like purchasing, estimating, drawing, special
projects, dredging and dry-docking operations since
1996. He is a diplomed Naval Engineer.