Kuehne+Nagel, a Switzerland-based logistics company, has delivered the largest floating drydock ever built in Türkiye to San Diego, USA.

The floating drydock, weighing 17,300 tonnes and measuring over 253 metres in length, 54 metres in width, and 21 metres in height, was built in a shipyard in Yalova, Türkiye.

General Dynamics NASSCO, an American shipbuilding and repair company, commissioned the transport. The task was to move the drydock from Türkiye to NASSCO’s shipyard in San Diego. It may sound simple, but the massive size and weight made it very challenging.

Since floating drydocks do not have engines, they must be towed to their destination.

The Kuehne+Nagel team in Türkiye began working on the project long before the drydock left the port. According to the National Project Logistics Manager, the planning involved not just checklists, but checklists for the checklists, ensuring that every tiny detail, from weight distribution to rope placement, was carefully reviewed.

Floating drydocks are U-shaped mobile structures used for vessel maintenance, especially for damage below the waterline. They are designed to submerge below ships and then rise after pumping out water, lifting vessels out of the sea for repair work. Their mobility makes them useful for operations in different locations.

When the transport began, the drydock was first towed out of the Yalova shipyard by four tugboats into open waters. There, it was prepared to be loaded onto BOKA Vanguard, one of the largest semi-submersible heavy-lift vessels in the world.

The vessel, operated by maritime company Boskalis, measures 275 metres in length and over 75 metres in width, capable of transporting structures larger than itself.

The loading process involved positioning the drydock at the stern of BOKA Vanguard. Tugboats and a mooring crew guided the drydock into position, while Kuehne+Nagel’s engineers onboard the drydock worked to secure it.

The operation was slow and careful, taking several days. Every centimetre and every connection had to be double-checked. Additional support boats were also used to shuttle the crew and engineers between the drydock, the ship, and the port.

Once the drydock was fully secured onboard after three days of intense operations, the journey to San Diego began. The ship had to cover around 13,500 nautical miles.

Due to its massive size, BOKA Vanguard could not use the Panama Canal and had to take an alternate route across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The vessel also encountered storms, with waves reaching up to 20 metres. Without its propulsion system, the drydock depended entirely on precise planning and marine logistics.

Kuehne+Nagel’s team in the USA is now preparing to receive the drydock and handle the final stage of delivery at the San Diego shipyard.

Reference: Kuehne+Nagel

Do you have info to share with us ? Suggest a correction