Colonna's Shipyard In Norfolk Gets Floating Dock From Holland

Colonna's Shipyard, Inc. in Norfolk, Va., recently acquired a floating drydock 571 feet long and 118 feet wide to enhance its ship-repairing capabilities. Formerly Dock No.

5 of the Amsterdam Drydock Company in the Netherlands, the big dock was transported across the Atlantic aboard the Mighty Servant 3, a semisubmersible heavy-lift vessel operated by Wijsmuller Transport B.V. of IJmuiden, Holland. The Dutch transportation and towing company is represented in the U.S.

by Wijsmuller (U.S.A.) Inc. of Houston. Wijsmuller operates a fleet of eight heavy-lift, self-propelled vessels similar to the Mighty Servant 3.

The dry transport method was chosen because a trans-Atlantic wet tow would have required extensive and expensive strengthening of the dock. Even then, it would have been necessary to remove two sections of the dock for a wet tow.

The Mighty Servant 3 has a flat unobstructed deck 459 feet long and 132 feet wide. When loaded aboard the vessel, the 571-foot-long drydock had an overhang of 114 feet.

Loading of the dock took place in Rotterdam harbor. The dock had been there for some time to undergo inspections on behalf of the new owner.

For the loading operation, the Mighty Servant 3 was partially submerged by pumping water into her ballast tanks. With the deck under water, the drydock was positioned precisely and the ballast tanks were pumped, bringing the vessel back to its normal draft. The procedure was reversed for the unloading in Norfolk.

For free literature on the facilities and capabilities of Colonna's Shipyard, Circle 17 on Reader Service Card For literature containing detailed information on Wijsmuller, Circle 18 on Reader Service Card

Maritime Reporter Magazine, page 6, Nov 1986

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