Dry-dock in Guam
Off the island of Guam, we find a floating dry-dock. I’d assumed the cargo was craned into the dry dock, but instead the dry dock slightly submerges itself (just like a submarine) so that the ship (or in this case, a real submarine) can drive into the u-shape of the dry dock. The dry dock then pumps out the water to raise itself and the cargo above the surface. Simple really.
Guam have three different floating dry-docks, this is the largest and is worth a staggering $24 million. The submarine is the USS San Francisco which stopped by here in January 2005 for emergency repairs after hitting uncharted underwater rocks.
Thanks: Martin Kaae
Edit: fixed the link.
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Another one in New Orleans: Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
did you mean…
“The dry dock then pumps out the water to raise itself and the cargo above the ’surface’. Simple really.”
or!
“The dry dock then pumps out the water to raise itself and the cargo above the water for service. Simple really.”
Obviously, both! (Thanks).
Unfortunately, I can think of too many, ill timed, bad tasted, cheap jokes at the expense of New Orleans concerning their floating dry dock.
Here is big one in Valparaiso, Chille.
Looks like it is servicing the biggest ship that it can handle.
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
And here are three normal dock, but huge.. in Hamburg.
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
It wasn’t an uncharted mountain. Navigator missplotted where they were and were going too fast for sonar to react.