Whatever floats your boat
The platform is designed to be a completely self contained unit capable of lifting vessels weighing up to 1,000 tons.
Allen Marine’s novel idea of an aluminium floating dry dock could provide a solution to the expense and difficulty of finding shoreside space to expand facilities.
The platform is designed to be a completely self contained unit capable of lifting vessels weighing up to 1,000 tons via a pneumatic lifting system. The floating dry dock is 140’ long on the inside, (160’ on the outside) and measures 42’ between the 26’ tall wing walls. It is segregated into pairs of compartments with a safety deck 6’ above the pontoon deck.
The design incorporates features such as side access doors through wing walls for moving machinery, pumping system, generator and control housing.
There is room for large, 1,000 gallon water storage tanks and the other equipment on board, including items such as jet washers, air compressor, a wastewater extraction pump and a water lift pump.
The maximum waterline length of craft it can accept is 38.1m (125’) with a beam of 11.58 m (38’).
Installation of the shallow draft unit is straightforward, without the need for costly civil engineering works usually associated with installing a travel lift.
The floating dock also has green credentials, as all wash off from any cleaning operation can be collected and disposed of in accordance with local environmental laws. This is achieved by pumping the wash off from an integrated slurry tank to existing shore based facilities or by installing an optional onboard water treatment plant.
The solution is also an economical one, with very low running costs. For example, the diesel air compressor is only required during the actual boatlift.
Gene Kause of Allen Marine told Maritime Journal, “For those facilities that already have a travel lift installed, the floating solution can offer fast cleaning, diagnostic and surveying services, freeing up the existing shore based facilities for longer term jobs.”
He added that the floating dry dock is flexible, and the unit can also be used for re-fit and engine replacement jobs if needed.
Images for this article - click to enlarge
Unless otherwise stated, all images copyright © Mercator Media 2012. This does not exclude the owner's assertion of copyright over the material.
