In Qingdao, China, Boskalis executed the float‑on of Grand Bahama Shipyard Limited’s brand‑new floating dry dock Lucayan. With an impressive length of 413 metres and a width of 85 metres, Lucayan is truly mega.
Does Boskalis have a heavy marine transport vessel in its fleet that is over 400 metres long and capable of transporting this immense dry dock? No. However, thanks to clever engineering, it was decided to transport the mega dry dock in four separate sections.
As a result, Boskalis’ semi-submersible heavy transport vessels Blue Marlin and White Marlin were loaded in just four days. Each vessel now carries a dry dock section measuring over 156 metres in length, with an additional smaller section placed on top of it.
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Assembly upon arrival
Upon arrival in Freeport, Bahamas, the four sections will be discharged and assembled into a single floating dry dock. Once operational, Lucayan will be one of the largest floating dry docks in the world, with a lifting capacity of 130,000 tonnes.
The Lucayan transport marks the second major transport that Boskalis has carried out for Seabridge Marine and Grand Bahama Shipyard. Last year, the BOKA Vanguard transported the 357-metre-long East End dry dock to the Caribbean.
Picture (top): Boskalis’ semi-submersible heavy transport vessels Blue Marlin and White Marlin loaded with the dry dock pieces (photo by Boskalis).
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