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.
While most docks for repairing war ships are land based, this one, in the earthquake prone Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is country's first and Indian Navy's only the floating dock.
In the earthquake prone Andaman & Nicobar islands, a floating dock was considered to be a safe option. It's and example of advanced technical prowess and the Indian Navy is proud of having acquired it.
The 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.
The total length of the dock is more than 188 metres and width is over 40 metres. Situated at a beautiful and serene location like Port Blair, the dock is also the prime centre of attention here.
When 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.
Blocks 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.
The floating dock is second only to an aircraft carrier in size - in fact the only things it cannot dock are aircraft carriers and oil tankers.
