Indian Navy's first floating dock
Indian Navy's only floating dock, a place on the waves where Navy's ships come for regular maintenance and repair, is based in Port Blair. Most docks for repairing ships are land based but in the earthquake prone Andaman and Nicobar Islands the floating option was considered safe.
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Indian Navy's first floating dockThe place is mainly used to carry out docking of war ships, which are positioned in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Maintenace work related to underwater portion is carried out so that the ships remain float worthy. -
Indian Navy's first floating dockWhen a ship comes for repair or maintenance, the dock's portion is sunk beneath the water. The ship to be repaired floats onto it and then the dock is raised again - leaving the hull of the ship in the open air, making it much, much easier to repair. -
Indian Navy's first floating dockBlocks are laid on the dock to suit the profile of each particular ship - up to 3 ships can be floated here at one time. 100 sailors and 7 officers run this dock - and it has proved to be so useful that despite its current cost of around 300 crores, the Navy is likely to acquire another one.
